No Remorse, page 33
Decker drew his blaster and pointed it at Brand’s head. If someone needed to kill her, he might as well do so himself and spare H Troop any public scrutiny.
“The Scandia Regiment’s cavalry battalion has deployed around the parliamentary precinct and removed any police presence from the secure zone. Your putsch is over. You will return to barracks, either with, or without your head. I don’t care which.”
“You won’t get away with it, Decker. Scandia will protest this unwarranted interference and demand the Senate take punitive action.”
“Be that as it may, but unless you turn around, you won’t be alive to witness my punishment.”
A deathly silence, underscored by the gentle purr of combat car drives and a soft morning breeze rustling through trees in full bloom, descended on the scene as Decker locked stares with Brand.
“Parliament is about to start voting,” Talyn’s voice said. “News commentators are saying the minor parties will side with the government as predicted. It means the new law will pass with two-thirds approval, ensuring no single party in power can repeal it unless it holds a two-thirds majority.”
“Did you check the news, General? It’s too late. The vote is on, and everyone but your Alliance masters will give it a hearty yea. If your Commander-in-Chief, the governor general doesn’t ratify the new legislation, Prime Minister Dahlstein will have grounds for asking that Scandia’s Supreme Court remove her from office. If you return to barracks, we might get through today without bloodshed. If you don’t, the Hamar Brigade will cease to exist.”
Brand took another long look at the over eight hundred Scandia Regiment soldiers waiting in silence, backed by their grounded gunships and anti-armor weapons. Then she tilted her head to one side as if listening to her ear bug. She spoke into a throat mike, her words too soft for the Marine’s hearing. Then she gave Decker a most unattractive sneer. “This isn’t over, Major.”
“For you it is.” He slid his blaster back into its holster and assumed the parade rest position again.
At Brand’s orders, the rearmost combat cars backed up until the entire column retreated through the barracks’ main gate. Decker repressed a long sigh of relief as he felt his shoulder muscles relax. They’d made it through the critical hour without firing a shot.
It was a victory the greatest strategist in human history, Sun Tzu, would approve. But Brand was right. This wasn’t over. Even with its legislation passed, the government couldn’t trust the security forces until Dahlstein and his ministers purged the senior ranks, which meant the Scandia Regiment wouldn’t return to barracks itself anytime soon.
He switched on his throat mike. “Can someone please organize a meeting with the prime minister? Colonel Salminen, Commander Talyn, and I need to discuss next steps with him. The putsch might be deflected, but we’re not done yet.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Talyn replied. “Stand by.”
“And has anyone heard from Lieutenant Commander Montero, or Ingrid Lagman, or Alisa Berneiser for that matter?”
“Negative.”
A sinking feeling tugged at Decker’s guts. Montero should have made contact with Ingrid by now. Knowing the Sécurité Spéciale, Spaeth wouldn’t give up on forcible government change yet, not while things still hung in a delicate balance.
“Did we at least find Ingrid Lagman and Alisa Berneiser’s location?”
“No. Berneiser’s butler AI keeps insisting she’s not at her villa and scans from orbit show no human life signs on the property.”
**
“Commander Talyn tells me I should thank you for this, Major Decker.” Dahlstein gestured toward a window overlooking Mannerheim Boulevard, where Scandia Regiment armored skimmers stood guard.
“I didn’t do it by myself, sir.”
“Yes.” Dahlstein’s gray eyes briefly rested on Talyn and Salminen. “So I gather. And you’ve created quite a stir. Federal military forces preventing a coup unbidden. The Senate won’t be happy at the precedent you’ve created, for fear it might spread. But please accept my thanks, nonetheless.”
“Sir, there’s a way to contain the effects of this morning’s events. Let me ask you a few questions, and please give me straight answers. Did you expect the Alliance to foment a forcible change in government?”
The Scandian prime minister nodded. “Yes.”
“And you took no action to prevent it?”
“How could I? The security services are still stacked with Alliance supporters. Our best hope was for citizens to rise against an arrogant political establishment overturning free and fair elections.”
“And watch blood run in the streets.”
“Sadly, yes.”
“Are you aware offworld interests actively worked with the Alliance to overthrow your administration?”
A spark of surprise flashed in Dahlstein’s eyes. “No.”
“One of the reasons we — Commander Talyn, Colonel Salminen, and I — undertook to act unilaterally today is because we found incontrovertible evidence of offworld meddling in favor of a renewed People’s Alliance dynasty. They’ve subverted your National Guard, the SSIA, and probably even the Police Authority. We can share this evidence with you and your advisers.”
“That sounds rather incredible, Major, but it would explain many things, including several rather strange missives I’ve received from our senators on Earth in the last few weeks. You mentioned a way to contain the situation...”
“Since Scandia’s security agencies seem to be in open revolt against your government, it gives you enough grounds to call for help from the Commonwealth Armed Services under Aid to Civil Power legislation. Backdate your request by a few days and give it to Colonel Salminen, the senior ground forces commander in the Scandia system. That way, what we did this morning will become, for all intents and purposes, completely legal. The Scandia Regiment can continue to protect your administration until you’ve purged the senior ranks of the Guard, the Police, and the SSIA. And if you want my opinion, you need to do that quickly and with utter ruthlessness before your opposition recovers. I brought a unit of highly trained Special Forces operators with me. They can help with that particular exercise.”
A cold smile played on Dahlstein’s lips. “You possess the devious mind of a politician, Major.”
“As a Marine, I’m not sure that’s a compliment, sir.”
He chuckled. “No, probably not. Very well. Colonel Salminen, thank you for responding to my request for assistance under Commonwealth Aid to Civil Power legislation. I understand that we still need to place a formal copy on file. My chief of staff will do so at once. Now that the immediate peril has been averted, I would appreciate your working with my Minister for Public Safety to help in restoring order.”
“Will do, sir. Might I suggest you issue directives confining National Guard units to barracks until further notice and releasing part-timers from active duty?”
Dahlstein’s eyebrows shot up. “The Guard activated its part-time units?”
“Indeed, sir. Yesterday evening. My outlying battalions are keeping them penned in. So far, we’ve not clashed, but it’s only a question of time.”
The prime minister reached out and touched a comscreen embedded in his desk. “Harald?”
A few seconds passed. “Sir.”
“Did you know General Karlsen activated the part-time Guard units yesterday?”
“No, Prime Minister. The bastard did it without permission.”
“Stand them down and tell Karlsen in clear terms that every single Guard unit is confined to barracks until I release them. Those who disobey will be arrested by the Commonwealth Army and charged with treason. Karlsen needs to choose. If necessary he will make that choice with a gun at his head.”
“What choice would that be, sir?”
“Resignation once he’s stood his troops down, or prison. I’m suspending the Guard’s authority to bear arms except for the minimum necessary to keep order. Our protection will be assured by the Army’s Scandia Regiment until we’ve cleaned house.”
“Federal troops, Prime Minister?”
“As you may recall, I asked the Scandia Regiment for assistance two days ago because I feared our own forces would rebel against the government.”
A pregnant pause, then, “Of course, Prime Minister. A very prescient call on your part.”
“Colonel Salminen, the regiment’s commanding officer, will be in touch with you shortly to help restore order in the capital. In the meantime, draw up a list of Guard, police, and SSIA officers whom you know to be unreliable and suspend them from duty. Find replacements whose first loyalty is to Scandia and not a given political party.”
“What about the civil and armed services rules? We can’t just suspend or fire people without cause.”
“Bugger the rules, Harald. Those pricks tried to overthrow the government. Fire everyone you suspect. We’ll deal with the damned rules later. If you need an armed backup to remove them by force, Colonel Salminen will be glad to oblige. He can draw on specialists reputed for their ruthlessness.”
“Will do, Prime Minister.”
Dahlstein cut the link. “Harald is in his parliamentary office one floor down, Colonel. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must face the Scandian people and inform them of what happened this morning. I fear no matter the words I choose, we will see street violence between League supporters and our opponents. We’ve been a polarized society for years.”
“One last question, sir.”
“Yes, Major?”
“Do you know where we can find Alisa Berneiser? I’m trying to reach Ingrid Lagman so I can tell her our daughter is safe.”
A bark of laughter escaped Dahlstein’s throat. “You’re Saga Lagman’s father? Now your presence here makes sense in a strange, surrealistic way. Ingrid and Alisa are in a secure place, Major, and have been since Saga vanished without a trace. Even then we suspected opposition shenanigans.”
“You don’t know the half of it, sir, but the offworlders behind the attempted coup kidnapped my daughter to blackmail her mother and me. And since their plans failed, I’m afraid they’ll try something more direct to squeeze concessions from you. One of my colleagues is looking for them, but he seems to have dropped off the surface of the planet as well, and I fear the worst. Where can we find them?”
Dahlstein studied Decker in silence for a few moments. “Blackmail, eh? I can imagine what they wanted from Ingrid, but what’s your angle, Major?”
“They wanted Commander Talyn and me to help precipitate the coup.”
“I beg your pardon? In what way?”
“We belong to the Fleet’s Joint Special Operations Command and have clashed many times before with the offworld interests that targeted your government. When they discovered I was Saga’s father, they hatched a plan to force us into doing their dirty work and thereby compromise the Fleet.”
“What sort of dirty work? Or should I not ask?”
“Since their plot failed, it would be best for everyone if you didn’t, sir,” Talyn said. “We weren’t about to carry out what they wanted anyway, in spite of the risk to our and Saga’s lives.”
Her eyes met the prime minister’s, and Dahlstein nodded. “Very well. Alisa and Ingrid are in a safe house north of here.” He gave them precise coordinates. “I wish I could tell them you’re coming, but with the SSIA compromised, my communications are probably being monitored by the opposition.”
Talyn glanced at her partner. “You’re taking QD and his troop?”
“Unless Colonel Salminen needs door-knockers to round up putschists.”
“We’ll be fine,” the Scandia Regiment’s commanding officer replied. “If we meet a tough nut, we’ll wait for you to be done. But I’d appreciate having Commander Talyn with me if that’s possible.”
“I can manage without Hera, just as long as she stays on call in case I need her NILO magic. But I would appreciate a couple of your gunships as transport.”
“Done. They’ll be waiting for you across the road from the Guard barracks.”
Decker turned to Dahlstein. “With your permission, sir?”
“Of course. Go, Major.”
— THIRTY-TWO —
Still wearing his black dress uniform complete with the holstered Shrehari blaster on his hip, Decker walked up the winding, tree-lined drive leading from Country Road Seventeen to the Villa Three Lilies.
Though he could neither hear nor see them, Decker knew the men and women of H Troop were closing in on the sprawling structure as well, searching for evidence that Spaeth had compromised Berneiser’s hideaway.
He finally came around the last bend and into a wide park-like clearing with the single story mansion at its center. Clad in the ubiquitous Scandian gray stone, with a steep, bright red tiled roof, and white, lacy trim, it looked precisely like the one in the simulation. Blank windows stared at him from either side of a double-door that would fit the imperial palace of his fevered dreams.
“I’m here,” he sub-vocalized into his nearly invisible throat microphone.
Vinn’s reply came through Decker’s ear bug almost immediately. “Roger. We see you. Nothing to report. We found and spoofed what we believe are all the security sensors guarding the target.”
After a final glance at his surroundings, the Marine walked up a pair of steps and touched the call screen.
“Yes?” A disembodied voice asked.
“My name is Zachary Decker. I’ve been told Ingrid Lagman, my former spouse and mother of our daughter can be reached at this address.”
“Please wait while I confirm.” Definitely an AI. It had that telltale neutered tone — again just like the simulation.
A few moments passed, then the door slowly swung aside with nary a sound. “Please enter, Major Decker.”
Zack stepped into an eerily familiar broad, high-ceilinged foyer with a marble floor and wainscoted walls. Corridors led off from each side and, as he remembered from the simulator, the doorway facing him opened onto the sitting room. Antique side tables lined the walls, each home to some what Decker’s mother used to call dust collectors — statuettes, bric-à-brac, and other assorted ornaments.
“Sera Lagman is in the main room, across the lobby.”
Decker thought it strange no human came to meet him, especially since he’d shown up unbidden, though someone probably watched him walk up the drive and confirmed his identity. He stepped through the sitting room door and immediately stopped at the sight that greeted him. The Marine’s hand reached for his blaster.
“How nice of you to join us, Major Decker.” Spaeth, sitting on a sofa with intricately carved legs, gave him a reptilian smile. “Now everyone’s here, perhaps we can put the change of government back on track. I’d also like to hear how you escaped Trulock, the mind bomb, and found your daughter, all in the space of a day. We’ve been unable to locate the lovely Saga since yesterday morning.”
Decker ignored the Sécurité Spéciale officer in favor of a pale blond woman sitting to one side, watched by a standard issue, dark-suited goon with a large-bore needler in his hand. She stared at him with terrified eyes.
“Hello, Ingrid. Saga is safe from these idiots and under the protection of the Commonwealth Armed Services.” He turned to an older woman, also watched by a hired gun, and also scared but not as much as his former spouse. “You must be Sera Berneiser. Prime Minister Dahlstein sends his best. He’s fully occupied restoring the rule of law in Hamar after this morning’s events, aided by the Commonwealth Armed Services, as per his formal request for federal aid to quell civil unrest.”
“We’ll see about that.” Spaeth’s tone held enough venom to kill an entire Shrehari marine division. “One Army regiment and a ragtag bunch of Naval Intelligence agents can only do so much.”
“You’re pissing in the wind, if you think the situation can be salvaged, Spaeth. It’s over. The Guard has retreated back to barracks and will stay there on pain of summary execution for high treason against the Scandian state. Without them, the remaining traitors, such as your SSIA friends, can’t do much, not against federal troops empowered to keep civil order by Prime Minister Dahlstein. And once Dahlstein purges the traitors from the top military and civilian echelons, his government will find enough evidence to see the Alliance’s senior leadership in prison for the rest of their lives. You lost. The Sécurité Spéciale fucked up, and the Coalition can go stick its head into a meat grinder. But you can get out of this. Put down your weapons and walk away. I promise I’ll let you and your people leave Scandia unharmed. Resist, and you will die.”
“Big words for a man who’ll witness two lovely ladies suffer unspeakable agony before they become a slaver’s loss-leader.” Spaeth glanced at Lagman and Berneiser. “They won’t fetch nearly as much as Saga, but perhaps Dahlstein might agree to compromise with us in exchange for his aunt’s life.”
“Aunt?”
“You didn’t know? Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. Few people are aware the soon to be ex-prime minister was adopted at birth. Sera Berneiser is his biological mother’s sister. And you, Major? I’m sure you’d contemplate a few compromises of your own to spare Saga’s mother.”
Vinn’s voice over the ear bug momentarily stilled Decker’s reply. “We have visuals on four tangos in your location. Confirm.”
“Yes. I’m sure you think so, but perhaps Dahlstein and I might think the lives of five people aren’t worth the bloodshed of a civil war.”
“Roger. Five tangos understood. One to your right, two by the women, one to your left. No visual on the fifth.”
“We’ll see how both of you feel after a demonstration.”
“I wouldn’t do that, Spaeth. You’re already in my sights for what you did to Saga. Enjoy that nice sofa because you’ll be sitting on something much less comfortable shortly.”
“Sofa understood. You’ll have to take him yourself.”
Decker nodded once.
“Please, Major, do stop this blustering. It didn’t do your colleague much good.”
