L. E.Modesitt - Imager’s Intrigue

“I’m sure that my opinion would be similar to that of Master Dichartyn.” If the matter were as straightforward as the question appeared to be, Jhulian wouldn’t have even bothered to ask me. He just would have asked Dichartyn.

He smiled, if coolly. “I thought you might say something like that. Might I ask you why you answered that way?”

I offered an off-hand shrug. “If it’s as simple as it sounds, you could just have asked Master Dichartyn. This suggests that you or Rholyn want to be able to claim that you didn’t talk to Dichartyn about it. That suggests that someone is unhappy with Artois and knows that Master Dichartyn would support him.” I still didn’t know why what I thought mattered in the slightest, especially to the Council.

“Or it might be that we want to claim that Master Dichartyn didn’t influence you.”

While I certainly listened to Master Dichartyn, we’d just as certainly disagreed on matters over the years. “My opinion is fairly direct. Artois is an honest and effective commander who has always put the Civic Patrol above anything.”

“That’s a rather sweeping statement, Rhenn.”

“The Patrol is his identity. I doubt that he could let anything destroy or damage it, if it were in his power to stop such damage.”

“That could be dangerous, could it not, if he felt someone or some group were out to disband or replace the Patrol?”

“Who’s on the Council who’s opposed to my being a Patrol Captain?”

Jhulian laughed. “Maitre Poincaryt said you’d say that. Why do you think that?”

“Artois doesn’t like me. He never has. He does respect my ability and my concern for the Patrol, and he thinks I’m good for the Patrol at present. So…who is backing Cydarth as his replacement…or as the director or head of another civil enforcement agency?” I watched Jhulian closely.

He turned his hands up, simulating helplessness. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I shook my head. “What do you and Maitre Poincaryt want me to watch out for?”

“I don’t believe we’ve asked for anything. It would, of course, be in the interests of the Collegium that Commander Artois and the Patrol remain as they are, at least for the next several years.” He stood. “I’m certain you’ll wish to talk to Master Dichartyn, but he won’t be back until tomorrow night.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“As you should know, Rhenn, he seldom reveals his destinations, except to the Maitre of the Collegium.”

After I left Jhulian, I walked over to the dining hall, and left a note in Shault’s letterbox telling him that I’d meet him in the hallway off the dining area at half-past fifth glass. Then, since I was on the east side of Imagisle, I walked across the Bridge of Hopes and caught a hack to take me to the station. I couldn’t justify taking a duty coach, not when I used one so much anyway. And now I had something else to worry about.

In the hack, I pondered over what Jhulian had asked, what he had hinted, and what he had not said. The implication was clear that someone on the Council, or several someones, didn’t want Artois continuing as Commander. Some of that might revolve around me, but certainly not all. Alsoran might know some of the rumors, but he wouldn’t know the Council side of matters.

He met me just outside my study. “Captain.”

I gestured for him to follow me inside. “Close the door, if you would.”

He did. We both sat down.

“Have you heard anything about someone wanting to replace Commander Artois?”

Alsoran didn’t say anything for a moment. He wasn’t the kind to reply immediately, but rather to think over what anyone said. I appreciated that quality and tried to emulate it, not always very successfully, as I’d shown earlier in dealing with Jhulian.

“Not in anything like those kind of words. Barcuyt-he’s Hostyn’s lieutenant-mentioned that the Council had to confirm Commander Artois for another five-year term before long. I didn’t think much about it. That was after the lieutenants’ meeting at headquarters last month.”

I waited. Alsoran often took his time.

“All the captains and the subcommander have to be reconfirmed,” he added.

“I’ll be up for that a year from now,” I said.

“The strange thing was that one of the other lieutenants-I can’t think of his name, but he’s the one from Second District-he was asking Barcuyt if he’d likely replace Hostyn. Not out in the open, but later, when they were alone, outside waiting for a hack, and I was coming down the steps. I didn’t think it was any of my business so I didn’t even look their way.”

“That’s interesting,” I mused. “Have you heard anything else?”

“No, sir. Not a thing.”

After Alsoran left, I went on to the more routine aspects of my day, if anything in the Civic Patrol was totally routine. The next few glasses were as uneventful as any Patrol captain’s time might be. That is, there were arrests and malefactors dispatched by wagon to headquarters for charging. There were two muggings on the northern section of the Midroad in Third District, both of shopgirls careless with their wallets. And, of course, both happened while I was on the other side of the district, accompanying Recyrt and Fuast on their rounds along Saenhelyn Road. I also received a dispatch from Subcommander Cydarth asking if Third District had discovered anything that might shed light on the explosion. That request crossed my earlier report to Commander Artois summarizing what Menyard had told me, although I had merely referred to “ordnance experts at the Collegium.”

The only thing out of the ordinary was that Smultyn and Caesaro found two dead elvers dumped in the street near where Quierca crossed Mando. Both elvers’ faces were contorted in pain, and they stunk of elveweed. There was no way to tell for certain, but it was likely that they’d had too much of the bad weed that Horazt had warned of, since they had no wounds, bruises, or other obvious causes of death. For a moment, I had thoughts that we might actually have fewer cases of disturbance and assaults by elvers, but that wouldn’t happen. Elvers, like all addicts, or most people, for that matter, didn’t really think things happened to them. Everyone else, but not them.

Horazt had warned me about the bad elveweed, but there was one question I hadn’t thought to ask, and that was whether the dealers in the other taudis were getting the same weed. I doubted he’d even know. Still, it was something to keep in mind…and watch.

The duty coach arrived on time, and Seliora and Diestrya were waiting for me in the lower front foyer at NordEste Design. I took Diestrya by the hand as we walked down the steps and out to the coach.

“Did you find out anything about the explosion?” Seliora asked, once we were in the coach and headed to Imagisle.

“Menyard confirmed that it was designed and planted by an expert. I still don’t have any idea who would go to all that trouble for a wealthy factor.” I couldn’t help shaking my head. “If he had High Holders as enemies, they wouldn’t use explosives, and neither would a workers’ group. It looks like foreign agents, but everyone else would know that as well.”

“So it’s someone who wants it to look like foreign agents, maybe Ferran agents, since the Council has backed the Jariolans-”

“Only because the Ferrans attacked our warships. Nearly half the Council was very unhappy about having to support the Oligarch, and they won’t want to get involved if war flares up again. You’re suggesting Jariolan agents pretending to be Ferrans? What about Ferrans pretending to be Jariolans pretending to be Ferrans? That’s wheels within wheels.”

Seliora nodded. “It’s never simple.”