“You can’t still have nothing,” Steve said through clenched teeth to Tanice. He’d spent two weeks watching Vivien and Franklin act like Kai Merlin was the answer to everything wrong with their lives. To make things worse, Winston had started inviting her to their executive staff meetings.
“I can make something up if you want me to, but she’s everything her resume says she is. You can do whatever you want, but if you want my advice, don’t try to set her up. Mr. Palmer seems to like her, so if he finds out, it’ll backfire on you.” Tanice walked behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re so close.”
“Get back to your desk and take your advice with you.” He shrugged her off and waited for her to leave before picking up the phone. “Can I see you in my office?” When he hung up, he had five minutes tops to come up with something, so it startled him when Kai seemed to fill his doorway sooner than he’d expected.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Hawksworth?”
He glanced at his screen and noticed two of the wells off the Mississippi coast had been given the green light to start again. “We need you to head to Condor One and Two to check the structures before we start pumping again. The coast guard says the situation is fine, but I don’t trust that advice.”
“When do you need me?”
“I’ll have a chopper waiting within the hour.” He leaned back, glad this was going to be easy.
“Where are you going?” Franklin asked, a stack of folders on his lap.
“A little diving for the team, but I don’t mind,” Kai said, then laughed when Franklin moved past her and dumped his load on Steve’s desk. “Some blue water will beat the hell out of that.” She pointed to the stack.
“Stop by my office before you go,” Franklin said and closed the door when Kai left. “I believe at last count we have in the vicinity of fifty-six thousand employees.”
“Should I pay attention because there’ll be a test later?” Steve laughed at Franklin’s inadequacy.
“All those people, and you pick Kai to dive two of our smallest operations?”
“That’s her job, Frankie,” he said, throwing his hands up. “Or am I the only one who remembers that? Besides, she jumped at the chance. Maybe you and your sister aren’t as fascinating as you think.”
He laughed when Franklin left without calling him on the insult. It was time to chance a few things to get back on track. The door opening again with Winston coming for a visit was a first.
“You sent Merlin out to the Condor sites?”
The way Winston’s fists rested on his hips made him hesitate. “She volunteered when I told her about it.”
“Then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind doing the same with our Mexican assets,” Winston said, holding up a sheet of paper. “Here’s the list, and I expect progress reports.”
“Wait,” he said, not needing a printed list to know how long the damn thing was. He’d be out of the office a solid month if the weather was perfect that long. “What about all our pending contracts?”
“Franklin has all that covered, so don’t forget your sunscreen.”
“Winston, the board’s not going to like you exiling me to the Gulf while everything’s up in the air like this.” He moved closer with his hands outstretched, palms up.
“I’ll take my chances.” Winston slammed the paper against his chest. “And if that was a veiled threat, don’t push me. You do, and I’ll fuck you over so bad your mother won’t recognize you. Are we clear?”
He nodded automatically, somewhat shocked at the outburst. Winston had never spoken to him like this, and he quickly reviewed mentally where he could’ve gone wrong. The trip to Triton had started a change, and the only new factor was Kai Merlin, so it was paramount he bring her down before the damage became fatal.
“I asked if you understand me?” Winston stared at him.
“Yes, sir,” he said, crumpling the sheet in one fist. “I understand perfectly.”
Kai was going to pay for the humiliation one way or another.
*
“Have we narrowed the list?” Hadley asked the council members with the highest level of clearance. Natal had been added to the list, but Hadley had directed her question at Laud Mandina, the head of the royal guards.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Considering the information found, on the date it was found, we’re able to narrow the possibilities to forty-six individuals. It seems like a lot, but you have to consider the size of the queen’s staff.” Laud put her hands up when she took a deep breath, getting ready to express how unacceptable that was. Hadley had recommended this woman to Galen, and they both trusted her with Galen’s safety, since she and Laud had known each other for years and graduated together, but at the moment they didn’t have the luxury of blind faith in anyone. “I realize that number is too high so we tried to narrow it in other ways.”
“Don’t skip any steps, but that list is too long to be feasible,” she said as she tapped the table with the fleshy side of her fist. “If they divulged this information to some unknown entity, Galen’s in danger. We can plan for every contingency, but it’s hard to defend yourself against a surprise attack, especially if it’s someone with access to her. If something happens to my wife—”
“Hadley, I know,” Laud said gently. “The queen isn’t only my sovereign. She’s my friend. I know how devastating to everyone it would be if something happened to her. That possibility is immeasurable when it comes to you.”
“So where do we start?”
“I’d like to meet with you alone before we discuss that.”
Everyone rose when she waved her hand, except her mother Brook and Galen’s mother Sibyl. “They aren’t going and I’m not asking them to, so let’s hear it.”
Laud pressed a button on the table and five faces appeared. “When you found the boxes, they provided a good starting point.” Laud split the screen and brought up Galen’s itinerary. “Her highness’s schedule is both set and fluid, so there’s always the possibility of change if something comes up that needs her attention. The day you ran the information these were all the incorrect entries, and these four,” she pointed to them with a laser, “were the most recent changes. Because the staff is privy to the information, the forty-six on the original list would’ve had the incorrect information. These five, though, are the only ones with family who’ve raised doubts or open complaints to her majesty’s rule.”
“How close a family?” Sibyl asked.
“Of the five, the closest family tie is Bella Riverstone.” The system showed only Bella’s photo and information for now. “She’s been on the queen’s staff since her graduation from the academy four years ago. Her mother died about three years ago, and soon after that her birth mother remarried Francesca Yelter.”
“Are you talking about the ass who preaches the destruction of all human life on the planet, that Francesca Yelter?” Hadley asked.
“The one and only. Her birth mother Wilma served on the queen mother’s staff during her reign and briefly worked for the queen until her second marriage,” Laud said.
“Isn’t part of Yelter’s problem the ruling family itself?” Brook asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve read her literature extensively, and it mentions the Oberons quite often. She and her followers believe the ruling family has strayed too far from the strength and leadership of the Oberons.”
“How in the hell did someone like that end up on Galen’s staff?” Hadley asked.
“Because Bella can’t be blamed for who her mother falls in love with. I’ve met Bella on numerous occasions so I don’t have any cause to doubt her,” Galen said as she picked up one of Francesca’s educational brochures as she walked in.
“This makes sense though,” Hadley said as she pulled a chair for Galen. “Bella might not have directly shared the information, but if she brought anything home or this fanatic broke into our system, we’ve got a problem.”
“One of many. What I’d like to know is where all these communication pods came from,” Brook asked, and Galen nodded. “I haven’t been able to work that out. Even if they were from the original batch, these account for almost their entire inventory.”
“Not to mention there isn’t that much genga on the planet. That stuff corroded so fast the archive has the only serious amount,” Sibyl said.
“We can dance around the truth all we want, but the only possibility that makes sense is that our system somehow missed the shipment coming in from outer space,” Hadley said.
“Actually I’ve thought about how that could’ve happened and how we could have missed it,” Laud said, and Galen lifted her hand slightly for her to continue. “If the pods came in all at once, we wouldn’t have been the only ones to notice, but if they came in small batches and not regularly, they would’ve just showed up on radar as an anomaly like a meteor crashing.”
“That’s totally possible, but you’d still need someone to attach them in the various locations,” Hadley said as she glanced at the map with all the pods they’d found so far. “If they came in batches, then no one would notice the absence of someone like Francesca and her followers as much if they were out placing them. We need to find out for sure, and we need to know if her stepdaughter had anything to do with this.”
“I’ve already placed surveillance,” Laud said.
“At the first sign she’s involved, bring Bella in, but keep it quiet,” Hadley said, taking Galen’s hand when she held it out. “If Francesca whips up her disciples, haul her in and I’ll show her a few things about my family and what happens to anyone who threatens them.”
“Behave, all of you,” Galen said. “I knew exactly who Bella’s family was when she came to work for me. Laud, do your job, but don’t be too heavy-handed, and let me know how it goes.”
The room emptied and Hadley moved to her knees in front of Galen. “I’ll do whatever you ask, but be careful letting people off too easily. Someone did this, and we need to find out why.”
“I intend to let everyone do what they’re trained to do, but we’re all entitled to our opinion. It’s the main premise this great society was founded on. Not everyone is going to love me, Mama told me that a very long time ago, and she was right, as usual.” Galen ran the tips of her fingers along her jawline, and as comforting as it was, she shivered from the sudden cold.
It was her fear of losing times like this that had dropped the temperature in the room. “I can’t lose you or Kai, my love,” she said, her throat closing at the sudden onslaught of fear and emotion. “I couldn’t go on if something like that happens.”
“I’m safe with you.” Galen put her arms around her and ran her hands up and down her back in comfort. “Until this is over, I’ll cancel all unnecessary meetings and let Laud deal with the staff. If we do that, though, we have to make an announcement of some kind.”
“As much as I want to isolate you, if you do that, it’ll drive whoever’s responsible into a deep crab hole. We need to flush them out, so get used to me traveling with you from now on.” She stayed in Galen’s arms a little longer before helping her stand. “Sorry I freaked out there for a moment.”
“I never want you to have masks to hide your true self from me, so don’t apologize.” Galen kissed her eyelids, then pressed her cheek to the top of her head. “Do whatever it takes to get this done,” she whispered. “I’ll have no one take what’s rightfully ours, especially what belongs to Kai.”
“I’ll gladly do your bidding, my Queen.”