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Laura fell in step beside him. “There are bylaws that prevent discussion outside the Quorum.”
“There is no quorum for this meeting. Just you and I.” Max stopped by the vehicle. “And there’re no bylaws against colleagues making conversation.” He opened the rear passenger door.
Wardens Macon and Brown sat in the back and Keiths behind the wheel. All three wore dark turtlenecks, black pants, and over-the-shoulder holsters.
The outline of a Kevlar vest showed against the fabric of their shirts.
Brown got out and took Laura’s suitcase to the back
“You should have told me I needed to be in uniform.”
“Why? You look much better in a suit.” Max waved a hand. “Please, have a seat.”
Laura smoothed down the back of her skirt and climbed in. Brown followed, trapping her next to Macon.
Max returned to the front passenger seat.
Laura put on her seatbelt.
Brown smirked. “What? Afraid of a fender bender?”
“My fears are irrelevant. It’s the law.”
Both men exchanged ugly smiles.
“Would you mind if I took off my shoes? My feet are tired.”
“Do whatever you need to make yourself comfortable.”
Laura removed her shoes and set them on her lap. “Thank you.” She made a show of flexing her toes.
Max indicated the high heels in her lap with a nod. “How do you keep from twisting an ankle in those things?”
“It isn’t a problem unless you break a heel. Which is why mine are custom made and re-enforced.” With four inches of steel rod.
“Still doesn’t sound very comfortable.”
“Not all shoes are made for comfort. And they look nice with my suit.”
“The price of beauty?”
“Something like that.”
Keiths drove the SUV from the tarmac to a sideroad, cutting past cargo bays and equipment hangers. They fell away, leaving a stretch of chain-link fence blocking off access to the runway where passenger planes landed and took off.
Max turned in his seat. “I’m going to be frank with you, Laura. The Senate is in a crisis.”
“How so?” A lock of hair escaped her chignon, and she tucked it back and loosened the pin of the comb in her hair.
“We’re broke.”
“I didn’t think that was possible?” They had the coffers of a small country.
“The Catholic Church cut off tithes centuries ago. Old family lines have done the same, choosing to leave the money to their children instead of keeping with their oath.” He shrugged. “Foreign governments have long forgotten what we did for them and changed their legislation, if a new power shift didn’t erase agreement altogether.”
“It should still be impossible.”
The Senate had built a fortune in gold and rare gems, become a self-sustaining organization over a thousand years ago. As the industrial age developed and corporations rose, the Senate invested in stocks and real estate.
