The Alembic Plot Part 25

"Right, then join me downstairs." She thought for a moment, then asked Brady, "What shape are they in?"

"Untouched, to the best of my knowledge, Excellency."

Four, and none softened up. Cortin nodded to herself, pleased, then asked, "What's the setup like down there? Colonel Bradford said one state-of-the-art suite, other conventional ones."

"Yes, Excellency. There are five complete interrogation suites, though only Suite Alpha--yours, of course--has the highly sophisticated equipment."

"Thank you." Cortin turned to Chang. "Lieutenant, would you ask Lieutenant Bain to join me after supper?" When she agreed, Cortin turned back to Brady. "Let's go."

Someone with a sense of humor she appreciated had posted signs in the prisoners' pa.s.sage showing the way to the dungeon, and one over its door quoting the ancient poet Dante: "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." They stopped there, and Bradford gave her a set of keys. "My responsibilities end at this door, Your Excellency. Enforcement Service personnel from the Detention Center are responsible for caring for the prisoners and cleaning up after you; the first is done at midday, and they are on call for the other. Now that you have a.s.sumed your duties, no one else will enter except by your order or with your permission."

"What about record films of the interrogations?"

"That is handled by the Palace security monitors, Excellency."

"Fine. What about spare keys?"

"There is a set for the Enforcement personnel I mentioned."

"We'll need three more, then. One each for Captain Odeon and Lieutenant Bain, and one for anyone else in the team."

"I will see to it. By Your Excellency's leave?"

"Granted."

The keys were marked; Cortin had no trouble finding the one for the main entrance, or for the cellblock. She'd wait for Mike before taking any of them to the suite, but she could make a preliminary evaluation and pick her first subject.

The block held twenty cells, four of them, as Brady had said, flagged as having occupants. She didn't get beyond the second one, though.

Its occupant startled her at first--she hadn't thought of him since leaving New Denver months ago--then she chuckled and turned on the cell's speaker. "Powell--I would've thought you, of all people, would've avoided Enforcement troopers."

Startled, the young man stared at the one-way gla.s.s in the door. "Uh . . . Captain Cortin?"

"Colonel, now--but it's me, yes. What're you doing in custody again, much less at Harmony Lodge?"

Powell managed a tentative smile. "Congratulations, Colonel." Then it faded, and his shoulders slumped. "You won't believe me--they didn't, at the Center, so they sent me here for the High King's Inquisitor."

To Cortin's astonishment, she saw the beginnings of hope in his face, and his eyes brightened. "That's not-- You're not--?"

"It is, and I am."

"Oh, thank G.o.d! They said the King's Inquisitor would have truthsense--please, let me talk to you!"

Cortin hesitated. He certainly sounded sincere enough, but he'd been conditioned once; possibly he had been re-conditioned, this time to kill whoever turned out to be King's Inquisitor. On the other hand, that Brother had said Shannon had put her off limits, and Powell had submitted to her will once; he'd do so again easily. So she was unlocking the cell door when Odeon arrived.

"Find a promising one?" he asked.

"I'd say so--one who wants to talk to me, at least." Cortin opened the cell's door, beckoned its occupant out. "You remember our young friend?"

"Of course! What's he doing here?"

"That's what he wants to talk about. Shall we go to my suite?"

"Just a second, please?" The young man was looking at her with adoration so open it was almost embarra.s.sing, and Cortin wondered where that had come from. "I haven't seen Captain Odeon in ages . . ."

"I don't mind if he doesn't." Cortin watched them embrace, one hand close to her pistol, but it seemed that all Powell wanted was a kiss.

At least that much of his conditioning held, she thought. When they broke, she repeated, "Shall we go to my suite?"

This time they made it. Suite Alpha's office was simple, but comfortably appointed, designed to give the subject a feeling of relaxation and trust. Cortin took her place in a grouping of furniture intended to help the subject feel more at ease that the normal desk-centered version of first stage, and gestured the other two to adjoining seats. "Now, Charles, what is it you don't think I'll believe?"

"That--" The young man gulped, tried again. "That I . . . had to come back. The Brothers . . . some of the older ones had me, the ways Captain Odeon and the others helped me find out I liked, but it . . .

with them, it wasn't right, and I finally figured out that was because Captain Odeon and the others also helped me realize the Brotherhood itself was wrong. Especially to hate you, when you're the one who let them help me." He gestured, helplessly. "So I had to go back to the Center, and find you, and . . . offer to help you any way I could, in return for the help you gave me."

Her truthsense told her he was being absolutely honest. "Did you tell the Brothers how you felt?"

"No, ma'am--that didn't seem like a very good idea. I let troopers see me, but they didn't do anything--maybe because you'd had me released.

Anyway, I didn't manage to get arrested until I hit one of them--and then no one'd believe I'd done it to get arrested! And that's how I ended up here."

So Mike and the Inquisitors had modified the conditioning she'd set up, had they? Powell was supposed to be terrified of her, if not of them--justifiably so, she admitted to herself--but he was grateful instead, enough so that he'd risked his life to get back. He could easily have been shot for attacking a trooper, not simply gotten arrested. As it turned out, their modification should prove more useful than her simple revenge, so she couldn't get too upset with them--but she would definitely have to find out how it had been done!

"That's good, then. What help do you think you can give me?"

"To start with, I overheard them planning a raid. I don't think it's the big one--n.o.body down at my level is supposed know anything about that, except that it's going to happen--but maybe it'll help? Even though I didn't hear much?"

Cortin leaned forward, not trying to hide her interest. "It will, Charles. Tell me about it."

Powell frowned. "It's supposed to be on the main convent of the Blue Sisters--you know the one, just south of Carthage Mountain?"

"I don't, but I can find someone who does. Go on."

"It's supposed to be on their main feast day--that'd be the Annunciation, the 25th. But they're afraid the Service'll find out somehow, so if you post troops--even watchers--they won't show."

Cortin scowled. The Blue Sisters--formally, the Order of Succor of the Compa.s.sionate Mother, Piety's order--were dedicated to caring for the seriously ill or wounded, especially Service troopers. So perhaps they were a natural target--and they definitely needed protection. "The most important part is keeping the Sisters and their patients safe, even if it means the Brothers escaping. I personally hope that can be done without alerting them, but--" she shrugged, "once I pa.s.s the information along, I'm out of it unless they pick up some prisoners.

Do you know if one of the Shannons will be involved?"

"I'm afraid not--that I don't know, I mean. But I'd think one would; it's the kind the Raidmaster would want to lead, either in person or by proxy."

"Good enough; I'll report it as a possible, then." She smiled at the young man. "I'm afraid I'm not as good at this type of questioning as I should be, Charles; I'd like to call in a friend for it. Will you talk to him as well as you have been to me?"

"Of course, if that's what you want."

"Good." Cortin went to her desk and picked up the black phone, asked Brady to come escort a guest, then turned her attention back to Powell.

"You've been a lot of help already, Charles, and I'm sure you'll be a lot more--but have you given any thought to what you'll do when you've given us all the information you have?"

The young man shrugged. "A little, but it depended on someone believing me. Like I said, I'd like to go to work for you, if I could."

Cortin nodded; she'd definitely be questioning Mike next! "Think about it some more, talk to my men--then if you're sure that's really what you want, I'll see what I can do. For now, go with Matthew; he should be at the main door shortly."

When Powell left, Cortin turned to Odeon. "All right, Mike, give!

Last time I saw him, I revolted and terrified him--now he's like a puppy eager for my approval, and I swear he has a crush on you. Why and how?"

To her astonishment, Odeon looked abashed. "Uh . . . Ivan had an experimental drug he wanted to try, just to see how thorough a conditioning was possible and how much trouble it'd be. Well, you'd already set up a program for our young friend, so Ivan figured he might as well work on him. He outranks us--outranked you, then--so we went along."