Madeline shook her head. “I still don’t understand this. Why would they do such a thing?”
“Quinn and Giles were monitoring communications planetside, as best they could,” offered Jack, frowning. “We do know that the headquarters of the Pleasure House was not the only location attacked. According to what Quinn and Giles monitored, certain other properties belonging to the House were hit, as were key installations belonging to the PDF themselves.”
“What?” burst out Madeline, in surprise and confusion. “The PDF attacked theirowninstallations? What the hell was going on?”
“Ah.” Enoch narrowed his eyes. “I begin to understand. This was a coup.”
Jack nodded. “That’s the best guess that Quinn and Giles had as well. It appears that factions within the PDF were getting ready to take over both the Pleasure House, not to mention key sections of the whole bloody planet. When theJerichosuddenly arrived in orbit, they panicked, thinking it was something to do with them, and initiated their coup a hair early. Thus, Madeline was able to get away. The rest of us were, too, of course, but it was Madeline they were after.”
“Butwhy?” exclaimed Madeline.
“Who wants you dead?” asked Enoch, simply and brutally.
Madeline turned pale and sat back. “Rachel Gentry,” she murmured. “It has to be. But this…so many dead…”
“Who is Rachel Gentry?” asked Enoch.
Madeline absently brushed her hair back. “There is a faction within the Pleasure House that wishes to turn the entire institution into a vehicle for sexual enslavement and trafficking,” she explained. “They understand nothing of what the House truly represents and see only the opportunity for massive profit. We did not even know this group existed, until certain scandals over the last year brought their covert activities to light. One of the two ringleaders, a horrible man named Harold Dawes, was killed. But the other one, Rachel Gentry, has powerful friends in the shadows and escaped justice. She and I have been dueling for control of the House ever since.”
“It appears she has brought your contest to a new level,” observed Enoch drily.
“This is why I asked Jack to come to Tarma,” said Madeline. “Not only for the resources he’s been sending but for help with strategy. And of course Jack brought Aria, and that brought you, tracking her down, and…” Madeline put her head in her hands. “What a mess.”
Enoch took Madeline’s hand in his own, holding it gently but firmly. “A mess, perhaps,” he agreed, “but one that wewillsort out.”
“Indeed,” said Felipesegundo, smiling, “we most certainly will. So let us try to break down the situation as it stands. Who is on Tarma?”
Madeline took a deep breath. “As far as we know, my major domo, Cornelius; my consultant, Aurelian, and my head of security, Corbus. Plus, thousands of employees of the House, who need to be protected from the worst effects of these power plays.”
“And Giles,” added Jack.
Felipesegundo exhaled sharply. “Giles is there?”
“He’s the best of the crew at undercover missions,” explained Jack. “He and Quinn decided. Quinn took theMaracaiboand followed my scatter-pod, while Giles went down to Tarma to infiltrate himself into whatever was going on.”
“Do we know if he’s alive?” asked Felipsegundo.
“He’s not in active contact, but he’s sent us a signal to let us know that he’s in,” replied Jack.
“This one is glad to hear it,” said the Treb, relieved. “And what of theJericho, Lord Peregrinus? It left the Tarma system quite suddenly.”
“TheJerichowas following our procedure,” nodded Enoch. “It could not attack the surface of Tarma without risking myself and Aria, so it would have jumped to a nearby system.”
“They abandoned you?” asked Jack incredulously.
“Absolutely not,” returned Enoch sharply. “But remember, my crew and I are perhaps the most wanted fugitives in the galaxy. We cannot afford to remain in an exposed position for long. Standard procedure would have been for the ship to jump to a nearby system then return to Tarma covertly and begin infiltrating our people onto the planet, looking for Aria and me, in that order.” He glanced at Aria, and pretended not to notice when she looked away. “I suspect my people are on Tarma, piecing together what happened, even as we speak,” Enoch concluded.
He sighed inwardly.Somehow, I must build a bridge to Aria. I don’t know how. Grace was always better at such things.
“So, as this one understands it, the only person left unaccounted for is Miss Marx’s agent, Marc Duchesne,” said Felipesegundo.
“It’s true. I have absolutely no idea where he is,” admitted Madeline. “I assume he was the one who programmed the scattershot escape pods. The only one who would know where Marc’s pod went is…well, Marc.”
“Once I get back to theMaracaibo, I’ll put some of my people on it,” offered Jack. “No promises, but they are pretty damned good at finding people.”
“Thank you,” replied Madeline, smiling at her brother.
“All right,” said Felipesegundo, “so now we need to determine what our next steps should be. But before we do that, this one suggests we take a break, to clear our heads and have some food. Making large decisions is hungry work.”
