“Ah. I see what you’re saying now. Let us hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“No joke. And the other devices… well, let’s just say we have extra security on the apartment now.”
“Right. Have you got a plan, Nick?” Honda asked.
“Not yet. But I’m thinking.”
“Don’t take too long,” Niebecker warned. “Not only is Beaudelaire looking for me, based on the intelligence information I received out of Annalia today, the Alliance vote is probably soon. I would estimate in a few weeks to perhaps only days. Certain persons are pushing hard, and unhappy it has not already happened, actually.”
“Let me ask you something, sir...” Ashton began.
“You have been calling me ‘sir’ for long weeks, Nik. Now I am before you, humbly requesting your help. I would go down on my knees and plead at this point, if it would help my cause with you. Don’t call me ‘sir’ any longer. But I would be deeply honored if you would call me Abe, as my friends do, please.”
“...All right... Abe.”
“Thank you.” The smile Niebecker offered was a little shaky, but sincere, and grateful.
“So, Abe, let me ask you – you want to disappear into the Empire. Do you want to become an Imperial citizen?”
“I don’t know. I’ve thought long about that one. But what I want is likely of no consequence; I think the answer has to be yes. Annalia is no longer what it was. Or perhaps I am no longer what I was. I can’t follow the Autarch any longer. I wish I knew more of the Sintaran emperor...”
“That can be arranged,” Ashton offered.
Niebecker refused to put either man out of their beds; instead, he bedded down on the sofa with a spare blanket and the throw pillows.
“No, I will be fine here,” he said, positioning the bedclothes for retiring shortly. “If you are uncomfortable resting with me here, then perhaps you can either take turns sleeping, or simply lock your bedroom doors?”
“I don’t think we need to all sleep,” Honda said. “If there’s somebody out there after Abe, we need to be ready in case they do manage to track him here.”
“True,” Ashton agreed. “How long do you want to make the shifts?”
“Mm. Hell, just split the night. Four and four.”
“Okay.” Ashton produced an antique coin. “Heads or tails?”
“What?”
Ashton snorted in amusement.
“Don’t worry about it. Just call one or the other.”
“Um, okay... tails.”
Ashton flipped the coin, caught it, and slapped it onto the back of his wrist.
“Tails. Call your shift.”
“I’ll take first shift.”
“Then I’ll go crash.”
“Bedtime snack first, anyone?” Honda asked then. “Abe, did you get dinner?”
“I fear I did not,” a rueful Niebecker said. “I was a little too anxious to eat.”
“We got cookies and milk for a bedtime snack. Or I can slap together a ham and swiss on sourdough if you need something more substantial.”
“I...” Niebecker paused. Then he admitted, “The sandwich sounds delicious.”
Honda headed for the kitchen, and Ashton cleared off the coffee table. “Lettuce, tomato, onion?” came floating out of the kitchen.
“All of those, please.”
“Mustard, mayo?”
“Yes.”
“Both?”
“Please.”
“Nick, you want anything besides milk and cookies?”
“Nah, that’ll be good. Bring some for Abe, too.”
“I was gonna. He’s our guest tonight, an’ I know how to be a good host.”
“Well, you know how to take care of people, for sure. I can speak from experience on that.”
“Right. And now we’re taking care of Abe.”
“I... I...” Niebecker began in response, then suddenly put his face in his hands.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Ashton said, alarmed.
“Nothing,” Niebecker said, but his voice was wobbly and he didn’t raise his head. “I... the strain has been great, the last few days, and you are both being so kind... when you really have no call to be…”
Ashton moved to sit on the sofa beside Niebecker, and put a light hand on the other man’s back.
“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s a big decision you made, after years of being loyal. I can’t imagine what I’d do in your shoes. But I’m not surprised that it’s getting to you now. Especially knowing someone’s out to kill you.”
“Forgive my weakness just now. But... you’re right. I served Annalia for many years, unquestioning at first. I just can’t do that any longer, because the Annalia I knew has been co-opted by the DP, in so many, many respects.” He broke off as his voice cracked. “I love the Annalia that was, and I always will. It was my home, where I grew up. But it’s gone. And I don’t think it will ever come back.”
“We’ll do our best to help you move on from here,” Ashton said.
“We sure will,” Honda agreed, coming out with a tray of food.
The night remained relatively quiet, though there were the occasional odd sounds from the corridor outside, as of someone softly prowling the hallways.
And once, the sound of gunshots came from the street, many stories below.
But nothing interrupted the quiet within the apartment, as Niebecker tried to rest, and Ashton and Honda took turns sleeping.
The next morning, Ashton cautiously dropped the VR suppressor. Honda pinged InfoDumpPlease and ascertained that there had been a clandestine guard on the apartment all night; it was likely the guards they had heard in the corridor outside.
“Now I have someone I want you to meet, Abe,” Ashton said, “but you’ll have to do it in VR.”
“Very well,” Niebecker agreed. “Who is it?”
“A friend of mine who interacts with the Emperor Trajan on a fairly frequent basis. You can ask him all the questions you like.”
“Oh my,” Niebecker whispered. “He is royalty, this friend of yours?”
“No, no. He’s a regular guy like me. Even the Emperor is a regular guy; I met
