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The guard shoved Laidon into the holding cell and helped the attendant remove the restraints. They had just moved out of the enclosure and activated the energy barrier when Zevon moved into his field of vision.
Laidon tensed. Why would the president of the Citadel bother with a personal visit? Laidon had been extradited to stand trial, and Altorian justice was swift and ruthless.
The cell was small and blank, three solid walls and the faintly buzzing barrier, nothing to look at, nothing to do. Laidon sank onto the narrow bunk with a sigh of frustration.
“And I was just starting to like you,” Zevon muttered.
Tall and muscular, with dark hair and piercing gold eyes, Zevon looked much more like a warrior than the president of an autonomous outpost. But then the purpose for the Citadel was to create the most powerful weapons in this star system, so maybe a warrior was exactly what this place needed. Laidon wasn’t convinced. Zevon had taken office nine months ago and there had been no sweeping changes, no meaningful reforms. If Zevon honestly meant to modernize the Citadel, what was he waiting for?
Laidon stared back silently, so Zevon went on, “I don’t trust you, but I admire your determination and understand most of your strategies. So, what the fuck was this about?”
“The Citadel controls eighty-three percent of the power triads in existence today.” Laidon shrugged as if his life didn’t hang in the balance. “I didn’t think you’d miss one.”
“The Citadel trains power triads. We do not own them,” Zevon argued.
Laidon scrunched up his brows as his eyes narrowed. “You don’t honestly believe that, do you? The Citadel insists that they are politically neutral, yet the board of governors ensures that each new triad formed benefits Altor and only Altor. That doesn’t sound very neutral to me.”
“The vast majority of applicants are from Altor,” Zevon shot back. “We can’t be blamed for an apparent bias when everyone involved is Altorian.”
Laidon waved away the defense. “You’re quoting the board of governors. Go back and analyze the records for yourself. The process is manipulated, has been for centuries.”
“I’m not here to defend the practices of the governors. I’m here to find out what the hell you were thinking when you had Raina Hays kidnapped.”
Scooting back so he could rest his back against the wall, Laidon swung his legs up onto the bunk and crossed them at the ankles. “It is unlikely you’ll believe me now, but that plan was already in motion when you and I agreed to work together.”
“You and Cylex agreed to work together. You both workforme,” Zevon clarified. “And a two-sentence message could have called off Kern. So you’re right, I don’t believe you.”
“It was not that simple. I was relatively certain Jevara would try to kidnap Raina. She was the only conduit left who hadn’t been claimed and he is desperate to control a conduit. Kern was in place in case that happened before I returned. If I’d called Kern off, Raina would have been taken by whomever Jevara sent after her and she would be at his mercy right now instead of recovering on Pyron.”
“Why do you want her so badly? Did you intend to claim her yourself?”
Laidon stared at Zevon for a long, tense moment before he responded. “When was the last time you visited Torret or even saw images of the suffering going on there?”
“I understand why your people rebelled. That does not justify kidnapping an innocent female.”
“Raina isn’t just a female. She’s a conduit. If she had bonded with me and my lieutenant, or any two of my empowered rebels, she could have become a weapon powerful enough to end this war.”
“Ending the war is what we want too,” Zevon insisted.
“But you’re content playing defense. I am not.”
Zevon crossed his arms over his chest, golden eyes narrowed and gleaming. “What is the alternative, as you see it?”
“Remove the source of the toxicity, permanently and let Torret recover.”
Challenge arched Zevon’s slashing brows. “Removal? Or murder? Which are you suggesting?”
“My choice would be assassination, but I can work with either.”
Zevon shook his head. “Forced regime change is seldom effective unless the force is internal.”
“What the fuck am I?” Laidon objected. “I represent the people being victimized by that monster. That is the definition of an internal force.”
“And who would replace Jevara once he has beenremoved?”
Laidon shrugged. “There would need to be an election, obviously. Exchanging a tyrant for a dictator would benefit no one.”
“And would you be among the candidates?” Zevon asked with a knowing smile.
