“Shortly after Kait Pyne’s arrival, someone tried to kill her. We continued to investigate. Shortly after we discovered the existence of Holloway Holdings and who was behind it, they murdered a member of the finance division named Colin Taylor, attempted to fake my suicide, and kidnapped Kait, bringing her aboard theStella Maris.”
Madeline looked at Marc. “Well?” she inquired.
“All true,” confirmed Marc, “and I was witness to much of this. I would also add it appears Rachel Gentry and Harold Dawes hold a majority interest in the company that owns theStella Maris.”
“Hmm. Can we stop the damn ship from leaving, Cornelius?” Madeline asked.
“I do not believe we have the legal power to do,” answered the man, in a cultured voice. “Miss Gentry and Mr. Dawes have stakes in the company as independent shareholders, not as board members of the House. Therefore, theStella Mariscannot be considered House property, ma’am.”
“Dammit, Cornelius. Do better,” said Madeline curtly.
He raised an eyebrow. “I did say we do not have thelegalpower to delay the ship, ma’am. If, however, we were to report an outbreak of the Ceti-6 virus within the House itself…”
“They would be forced to impound the ship in quarantine, pending decontamination,” finished Madeline with satisfaction. “If the rumour of a viral outbreak gets out, though, that’s gonna cost us a bomb.”
She put up her hand to forestall Aurelian’s outburst. “Don’t get knotted; it’s worth it. We’ve gotta nail these bastards and get this girl safe, not necessarily in that order. Do it, Cornelius. Just see if we can keep this real tight, okay?”
Cornelius nodded, stood up, and walked to the window, already on the phone.
Aurelian was a little bit in awe but trying to hide it.
“All right,” said Madeline. “That stops the ship. Now we need to get on board and get her out before they can kill her. We need to act fast. I can get a so-called decontamination crew up there pretty quickly, I imagine. Marc, this is your department. Can you organize a team?”
Eyes gleaming, Marc nodded. “Aurelian, do you still remember your training with the Planetary Defense Corps?”
Aurelian nodded. “Of course.
“Hold on,” said Madeline sharply. “Marc, I want you going in with pros. Aurelian, no offense, but you’ve got way too much stake in this to play it smart.”
Aurelian levelled his gaze at her, and there was no leeway in it. “Ma’am, with all due respect, try and stop me.”
Marc chuckled.
***
Aurelian admired the lethal-looking lines of the cutter as they walked across the tarmac. It had been efficiently painted with biohazard decals and the insignia of Tarma’s Ministry for Public Health.
“Madeline Marx is one hell of an efficient woman,” he observed.
Marc nodded. “Mon ami, you know my heart belongs to Amelie, but a part of me is a little bit in love with Madeline Marx. Or perhaps it would be better to say in awe of Madeline Marx!”
“Yeah, I can see why,” agreed Aurelian.
They mounted the steel stairs, followed by a group of twenty or so armed and muscular men.
“Marc, no one’s going to think those guys are decontam workers,” hissed Aurelian. “They look like bloody pirates!”
“They will be wearing masks,” Marc reminded his friend.
“Ah.” Aurelian nodded and looked to his gear. He, like the others, was wearing a hazmat suit, although he was pretty sure regular hazmat suits did not include armour panels and discreet openings to access tactical weapons beneath the bulky exterior surfaces. He checked he could easily reach his flechette pistol.
Marc had explained the workings of the weapon during the ride to the spaceport.
“You cannot fire guns in space, my friend. So these pistols fireles echardes…splinters, you see? They will not penetrate the hull of a ship, but they make an unholy mess of the people inside.”
Aurelian was seriously wondering exactly how much he really knew about his friend.
“Take your seats for launch,” the pilot announced over the intercom. All the security men took their places on thickly padded chairs then strapped themselves in. Marc took the seat next to Aurelian, strapped in then checked his friend’s safety webbing.
