The Revolution Business

It hung in the air for a moment, before Riordan replied. 'Nobody has seen him for two days.'

'Nobody has-' Miriam blinked. 'You're kidding. You're Clan Security. You're telling me you've lost track of the official the Council put in charge of half a dozen atom bombs?'

'Milady-' It was Brill.

'What is it?'

'He can't-' Her eyes were pleading.

'Nobody can keep track of every member of the inner families,' rumbled Alasdair. 'We don't have the manpower.' Miriam looked round, to see him watching Riordan. 'Nevertheless… something happened, did it not?'

'I was awaiting a report,' Riordan said reluctantly, 'before calling a meeting of the Committee of Regents. And the full Council, if necessary. It is not just his lordship who is proving hard to contact.'

'Who's missing?'

'Oliver, Earl Hjorth. Baron Schwartzwasser. His lordship of Gruen, Baron yen Hjalmar. About half a dozen past and present soldiers of this very office who are absent without leave, two-thirds of the Postal Committee, various others-don't look so shocked; it's a goodly cross section of the conservative faction, but not all of them. I happen to know that Baron Julius is sitting on the bench in the royal assizes today, and when I raised the matter he professed ignorance convincingly. My lady, they might be attending a private party, for all I know. Their political views are not a sufficient reason to condemn them, in the absence of any other evidence.'

'But you don't know where the bombs are.' Riordan looked pained. Miriam leaned towards him. 'And there are rumors,' she hissed. 'A lot of whispering about revenge and honor. I'm not deaf, I've got ears to hear this stuff with. What do you think is going on?'

Riordan tensed, and she thought for a moment that he was about to reply, but at that moment the door opened. 'I said we weren't to be-oh. My lady.' He rose to his feet as Miriam turned.

'Helge? What are you doing here?' Olga glanced round angrily as she closed the door. 'I see.' She focused on the office's owner. 'My lord, we need to talk about Plan Blue, right now. Helge, I beg of you, please excuse us-'

'It's too late for that.' Riordan frowned. 'Helge was just asking me about-about Plan Blue.'

'Plan Blue?' Miriam echoed.

Alasdair cleared his throat. 'Is that the contingency plan for-' He cleared his throat again, and raised an eyebrow.

'Oh scheisse,' said Brill, despair in her voice.

'The bastards have activated it,' said Olga, her voice tightly controlled. 'And I do not recall being invited to a plenary session to approve such action. Do you? It's unforgivable!'

'Plan Blue?' Miriam repeated.

'Excuse me.' Riordan nodded at her. 'My apologies, my lady, but I must make a call.' He lifted the telephone handset and began to dial, then paused. 'That's funny. There's no tone.'

'Give that to me.' Miriam reached for it. The handset was dead, mocking her. 'Urn, you've got a dead line. Could you have been cut off by accident, or is that too improbable?'

'Enemy action,' said Sir Alasdair. 'My lady, over here.' He moved swiftly, gesturing Miriam away from the window and moving to stand where she'd been a moment before.

'Otto Schenck admitted it to, to one of my sources,' Olga added as Riordan poked at his desktop computer, a frown spreading on his face. 'Boasted, belike, he said they're going to send the enemy their king's head on a plate-'

'It's not going to work,' Brill whispered.

'What's not going to work?' Miriam rounded on her tensely. 'What are you talking about?'

'Why now?' Brill frowned. 'Why are they doing this now?' She looked at Miriam. 'It's something to do with your grandmother, my lady. Her visit the other day. That was no coincidence!'

'What do you-'

'We need to get out of here!' Brill raised her voice, piercing and urgent. 'Listen, everybody! This is a setup! We need to leave the building right now!'

'Why-' Riordan was standing up.

'She's right, go, now!' Olga grabbed his arm.

'My lady. This way.' Alasdair yanked the door open and pulled Miriam along behind him.

'But where are we-' Miriam stopped arguing and concentrated on not stumbling as he powered along the corridor to-wards a fire door. 'Alasdair! No!' Visions of claymore mines flashed through her mind as he stopped dead.

'Oh, I don't think so,' he assured her with a sharkish grin. 'I checked this one before you arrived. Besides, I don't think they want to kill us. Immobilize us and send us a message, perhaps, but they're not going to risk killing the heir.' He shoved down on the emergency bar and pushed the door open. In the distance behind them, a tinny siren began to wail. 'After me, if you please.'

Sir Alasdair ducked round the door, then pronounced the area clear. They piled down the fire escape to the car park at the back of the small office building, Brill and Olga trailing behind. 'What exactly is Plan Blue?' Miriam demanded breathlessly. 'Where's Riordan?'

'He's got other things to do,' said Olga. 'My lady Brilliana, please take your mistress somewhere safe.'

'Where-'

'-Plan Blue?'

'Plan Blue is the usage case for the Clan deterrent,' Brill explained as they climbed into Sir Alasdair's Explorer. 'A decapitation strike at the enemy.'

'Oh Jesus. Tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means.'

'I fear I cannot.'

'Olga, what is Riordan doing?'

'He's going to find a phone.' She grinned, humorlessly. 'Oh, there he is now…'

Miriam turned her head to see Riordan round the side of the building, holding a briefcase. He was walking towards them. Olga popped the door.

'Drive,' he said, climbing in. 'I've got to make a call. Once it connects, they'll be trying to trace us, so on my word pull into a car park so I can ditch this thing.'

Brill stared at the case as if it contained a poisonous reptile. 'Is this safe?' she asked.

'No.' Riordan didn't smile. 'You were right about it, Olga.'

The truck was already moving as Riordan opened the briefcase. 'What's that?' asked Miriam.

'A special phone.' Brill pulled a face. 'Not safe.'

'Indeed.' There was a tray in the case, with a cell phone-in several pieces-nested in separate pockets. One of them contained a small, crude-looking circuit board with a diode soldered to it; another contained a compact handset.

'Why did we leave the office?' asked Miriam.

'Can't use this phone while stationary,' Riordan grunted. 'And the opposition cut our lines. A nuisance measure, I think, but the timing is worrying; I think they were watching you to see if you would take their bait. And you did.'

'Bait?' She shook her head, bewildered.

'You came to see me, about Plan Blue. I do not believe that is an accident.'

'Bastards,' she mumbled under her breath. Louder: 'It was your man Carl.'

'Thank you,' Riordan said gravely. 'Alright, I am going to talk to the enemy now.' He picked up the handset, flicked a switch on the small circuit board, and poked at the exposed keypad of the vivisected phone. 'Dialing…' The sound of a ringing phone filled the truck's cab, coming from a speaker in the briefcase.

'Hello?' The voice answering the phone was cold.

'I was told that you can send a message to the White House,' said Riordan. 'Is that correct?'

Miriam's skin crawled as she waited for the reply.

'Correct,' the voice said drily. 'To whom am I speaking?'

'You can call me the Chief of Security.'

'And you may call me Dr. James. Are you calling to surrender?'