“Very good, then. Let me get on to business, and not waste His Majesty’s time. May I assume, Sire, that you’ve read my communiqués regarding the conspiracy that’s developed in the New Headquarters organization?”
“I have. I am not pleased.” The white-blue eyes grew cold. Carter tried not to obviously bite his lip.
“I’m sorry, Sire. We’re cleaning up the mess as best we can, and endeavoring to determine how they got past our requirements in the first place. The first step, however, is figuring out who is in on it, and who lied under oath, and who did not. From a purely diplomatic standpoint, it’s… tricky.”
“Oh, no no, Director Carter,” Dunham said, his eyes warming slightly. “I’m most pleased with you and your hand-picked people; you are doing an excellent job – and you’re right, it is hard. You are rebuilding the organization from scratch, with very few inside the organization you can trust to vet the others… and I fully understand that. No, I am emphatically not happy with the conspirators.”
“Ah. That does make me feel a bit better.”
“Good. Forgive me; I should have been clearer.”
“I expect it takes a great deal to get used to the repercussions of being the Emperor,” Carter offered with a slight, wry smile.
“Oh, it does indeed, Director. It certainly does. In any case, back to your little conspiracy. I trust that you, as the principal target, have taken all due precautions to remain safe?”
“Yes, Sire. As well as my wife, my right-hand man, and his wife – all of whom are being targeted, in addition to myself, as we are all police officers of various sorts. But I was wondering something.”
“By all means, ask.”
“Given the last time such a thing happened, your sister was directly involved according to Detective Ashton, and you yourself had some participation, never mind the execution of judgement upon the Council and the original Headquarters staff… well, I simply wondered how you might wish this handled, Sire.”
“Ah. Hm.” Dunham paused to consider. “Well, that is a good question. You’re asking if I want them tried in the standard courts, or under the Throne’s system of high justice?”
“Precisely, Your Majesty.”
“I don’t know as yet. I’ll have to think on it,” Dunham concluded. “I may have to wait and see the interrogations and decide what I make of them, before reaching that decision.”
“Do you intend to attend the interrogations from an observing room, then, Sire?”
Dunham sighed in regret.
“No, I’m afraid I simply won’t have time to do that,” he said. “As you noted earlier, Director Carter, there is a great deal involved in becoming an Emperor, and as if that weren’t enough, there are some other items, international diplomacy and restructuring of other branches of government and whatnot, things festering in the odd corner here and there, that cannot be left to lie – they demand my attention, and at the highest priority. However, what I think I can promise you is that I will view the interrogations in the evenings, most likely the same day they were conducted, though if certain other things accelerate, it may take me a couple of days to get to them. But I promise you this, Director Carter – I’ll watch them personally, and let you know as soon as possible if I will issue a ruling or let it go to the standard courts.”
“You know that one of ours has already been injured on their account?”
“I had heard something of the sort, yes. Will he survive?”
“We… don’t know yet. He’s in the hospital, in grave condition.”
“I see. It was an accident, was it not? It was a lightning strike, according to what I was told? Is that correct?”
“Yes. But one that would not have happened had he not been working to safe the sabotage package placed by the conspirators, at the time the strike occurred. So in that regard, should he… not survive, it would be considered manslaughter in the first degree, and likely ought to be added to the charges levied against the conspirators.”
“Mm. Yes, I understand what you’re saying, Director Carter, and you’re right. Very well; I’ll factor that information into my decision-making, also. I hope we do not have to add the manslaughter charge, however, for his sake. Keep me posted on his condition, please?”
“I will be happy to, Sire. He… works under my wife in the Imperial City Police, and she considers the younger members of her division – of which he was one – her ‘work kiddies,’ as she puts it.”
“Ah. I see. So he is extended family, of a sort.”
“Just so, Sire.”
“Please convey my sympathies to your wife, then, Director Carter. As Emperor, I believe I understand the concept, all too well.”
“Yes, Sire. I’m sure you do. And she will appreciate that.”
“Do you have a timetable for events yet?”
“Not yet; it is all still developing… and we are allowing it to do so. I’ll keep you apprised of that, too, Your Majesty.”
“Very good, then, Director Carter. I understand, and I will wait to hear from you.”
And Dunham dropped out of the channel. Carter found himself back in his office at Temporary New IPD Headquarters.
Dinner that night was a morose and very quiet affair. Everyone got into the Ashtons’ kitchen to cook – Cally, Nick, Maia, and Lee – but they decided on relatively simple fare, easy to fix and easy to digest, because they were all upset. A colleague and friend, one who had been trying to help them, lay in the intensive care unit of the Hayden Creek Hospital, the nearest medical facility to the Carter house, and they still didn’t know if he would live or die. More, even if he lived, he might well be permanently crippled in some
