Hellhole Inferno (24 page)

Next, she had to bring them into the plan and make the last piece fall into place.

*   *   *

Militia troops were assigned to the section of the city where the Candela refugees were held in slapdash community housing. The people had gone through a devastating ordeal upon evacuating their planet, losing their homes and worldly possessions.

Tehila had not warmly welcomed the refugees, and now the military takeover had thrown them into a cauldron again. The refugee settlement was not a prison or an armed camp, and the militia guards were there to ensure that the refugees did not stage an uprising of their own, but rather than calming them, the additional security and the repressive atmosphere had the opposite effect.

Enva knew that Ian Walfor and Tanja Hu had to be somewhere in that refugee complex. As an unobtrusive clerk, she obtained an official pass bearing the Diadem's seal and a stamp from Administrator Reming, which granted her permission to speak to a representative of the refugees. Her stated goal was to manage a smooth transition, now that Tehila was restored to good graces in the Constellation.

Outside the refugee complex, the guards were skeptical, even amused at the bureaucratic obliviousness. “Would you like an armed escort inside, ma'am?”

She played up her naïveté, showed the Diadem's pass as if that was all the protection she would ever need. “Oh, that won't be necessary. They're citizens, and I'm just trying to improve their conditions. Uniformed guards would only make the situation seem more awkward.”

“They aren't too happy about the new administration,” a guard said. “A lot of people in town are grumbling, not that there's anything they can do about it.” He smirked. “But the Candela refugees have always been complainers.”

“They'll come around soon enough,” Enva said as she passed through the gate; then she hesitated, as if another thought had occurred to her. “Diadem Michella wishes to ensure a harmonious consolidation, so we have to try to understand their concerns. Soon—perhaps today or tomorrow—I will be taking refugee representatives over to the Diadem's offices. I hope you won't give me any headaches about that.”

“No, ma'am,” said the guard. “I'll pass the word to the personnel on duty.”

Inside the refugee housing, Enva found open yards where people gathered, families sitting together and talking under large tent awnings. Most of the refugees looked gloomy, still in shock. They looked up when she arrived in her officious bureaucratic outfit, carrying her paperwork. If Walfor and Hu had vanished into the crowds here, they would never be found unless they wanted to be. Enva Tazaar did not have time for games.

She addressed no one in particular, but had their attention. She changed her tone of voice. “I'm looking for Ian Walfor and Tanja Hu. I wish to speak with them as soon as possible. Please assure them it will be a mutually beneficial conversation.”

Seeing the downtrodden people, she did not expect them to react with enthusiasm, nor did they. She could feel a wave of resentment building around her, but Lady Enva Tazaar knew how to address large crowds, knew how to infuse authority into her voice. She discarded her demeanor as a mere governmental clerk and became an entirely different person, commanding and confident.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I know that Ian Walfor and Tanja Hu are both here. Their ship arrived several days ago, but I have not reported it to the Diadem or to Commodore Hallholme. If I were going to betray the two of them, I would not have come here. The Diadem would reward me well if I revealed that the fugitive Buktu planetary administrator was right here under her nose.” Enva narrowed her eyes. “And she would be even more interested to capture the woman who sent the head of Territorial Governor Undine back to Sonjeera.”

She regarded them all; she definitely had their attention now. “I promise Hu and Walfor will want to hear what I have to say, and it'll definitely help your situation here on Tehila. It's a matter of some urgency, and if we don't act soon we'll lose our window of opportunity.” She glanced at her chronometer, hardened her voice in case anyone here tried to betray her. “If I haven't returned to my offices in one hour, the Diadem's forces will receive an announcement, and they will mercilessly sweep this entire compound.”

Enva sat in silence and waited, daring them to call her bluff.

The two refugee governors came to her in a few minutes. Enva appraised them, saw a strength and confidence that was different from the sad, hopeless resignation of many Candela refugees.

She rose to her feet and faced them. “I know you, but you don't know me … unless you look closely.” Their faces showed no immediate recognition. “We need to go somewhere we can talk in private.”

“You're Enva Tazaar,” Tanja finally said.

“And I need your help bringing down the Diadem and saving Hellhole.”

*   *   *

It was dusk, and the shifts changed among the militia guards. The headquarters staff was heading home, more concerned with dinner than politics.

Ishop could barely contain himself.

He had watched the time all day. After receiving the go-ahead from Enva Tazaar, he studied the spaceport records and made sure that Walfor's impounded ship was ready to go. This would be their only chance. Another day, and it would be too late.

Commodore Hallholme considered Tehila sufficiently consolidated that he was ready to launch his Hellhole assault. After he and Enva abducted the Diadem, however, Ishop knew those plans would change.

His mind felt like a mass of snakes, his thoughts twisted and lashing out with all the myriad reasons he had to hate Michella Duchenet. She was cold and vengeful, self-centered, clutching onto power with a clawlike grip. She had used him. She had laughed away his hard-fought and well-earned noble name.

And she had murdered Laderna.

Ishop was not inclined to be a forgiving person.

Simply killing the Diadem would have been so satisfying, but Enva was right: far better to deliver Michella helpless to her mortal enemy, the man she hated most in the entire universe. Eventually, the old woman would learn that Ishop was the one who had betrayed her, so he could take satisfaction from that, too.

As the Diadem finished her day and readied herself to face another dreary evening in these primitive and squalid buildings, Ishop presented himself with the well-oiled smile he had practiced so much it seemed almost natural to him. “I have a special treat for you, Eminence. Something I must show you myself.”

She exhibited no interest. “I'm tired, Ishop. What is it?”

“After searching the impounded ships at the spaceport, I found something that will delight you—a whole array of black-market delicacies! So many, and in such assortment, I don't know which of them to bring you. Luxury items fit for a Diadem. They were intended for Administrator Reming, but I intercepted them for you.”

She smiled. “Ishop, you're such a dear, always thinking of me. What would I ever do without you?”

“You would have great difficulty without me, Eminence.” He gestured for her to follow him. “Come, everything is stored in the reserve pantry. We'll take a side corridor.”

She sighed. “Oh, Ishop, just prepare a gourmet dinner for me. You know what I like. And you know I can be very grateful.”

With great effort, he kept the edge out of his voice. “Yes, I'm very familiar with your gratitude, Eminence. But you need to see this for yourself—it's on the way to your suite. There are also several cartons of the special-blend tea you like so much, and a lot more.… I wouldn't presume to choose for you.” He took her arm, encouraging her. “It'll be like a treasure hunt, just you and me.”

She chuckled, let herself be persuaded, as he had known she would. “Oh, very well.”

He led her out a side hallway, knowing she was glad to bypass the constant guards and pestering officials. Ishop also knew Enva Tazaar would be waiting for them. He was unarmed, because he was searched whenever he came into the Diadem's presence. Enva, though, had managed to acquire a powerful hand stunner, which she smuggled through security on her own.

When Ishop guided Michella into the large pantry chamber, Enva Tazaar was waiting for them inside, stunner drawn. Ishop closed the door as Michella looked aghast. “Ishop, protect me!”

She started to scream for guards, but Enva felled her with a crackling stun blast. The Diadem collapsed like a heap of mummified bones.

His eyes sparkled. In preparing for this, the two of them had cleared out many of the packages in the pantry and left an empty cargo container marked with Constellation insignia. “Help me get her in here,” Enva said, keeping a businesslike edge to her voice, demonstrating that she was a hard and imperious noblewoman, just like she had been before her disgrace. “I've already got the manifest written up and approved, and there's a ground hauler waiting. We'll take her to Ian Walfor's ship at the spaceport.”

Ishop took great pleasure in unceremoniously dumping the old woman into the cargo container. He was practically capering with joy, pleased at how well their plan had gone. Only a few more steps. It should proceed like clockwork.

“One more thing, Ishop,” Enva said. He turned to her and found himself staring down at the stunner. “I don't trust you either. And just in case you need plausible deniability later—”

When Enva blasted him, the big man collapsed perfectly into the cargo container, falling on top of Diadem Michella.

 

32

The unexpected purge and military crackdown on Tehila had created chaos, turmoil, and fear, but it also presented a range of opportunities to Tanja Hu and the Candela refugees. They had known they needed to move quickly or it would be too late to warn the General, but they didn't have a plan.

Even with all the reasons not to trust Enva Tazaar, the disgraced noblewoman gave them their best and perhaps their only realistic chance. The fact that they had to move that night meant that she and Ian Walfor didn't have time to overthink their strategy.

Now, Tanja wiped perspiration from her forehead and glanced at the chronometer. Minutes ticking down—they had to get going. “We're in this up to our necks.”

“Maybe so,” Walfor said, “but let's try to be optimistic. I'm your knight in shining armor.”

“Just be my pilot and get our ship out of here. That'll be good enough.”

With the Commodore's massive fleet turning Tehila into a military base practically overnight, Tehila was in a frenzy. Too many people were giving orders, and many of the instructions were contradictory. The low-ranking soldiers were flustered, resigned, and dismayed. Enva Tazaar's bold plan took advantage of that.

Tanja and Walfor easily obtained militia uniforms, which were distributed widely in hopes of increasing the visible numbers of the militia. Tanja didn't like wearing such a uniform, but it was an important element of her disguise. She plucked at the sleeves and tugged at the seams, but couldn't make the blouse hang correctly. “This looks like it was made by a cut-rate costume shop.”

“Probably was. The militia had to produce large quantities of them somehow.” Walfor brushed his own chest and lifted his chin as if to cut a striking, heroic pose. “Actually, I think it fits you rather well.”

She shot him a sharp glance. “Let's get to the spaceport. It's time.”

Full night had fallen, and the landing zone lights shimmered a harsh white. Tehila's military-grade ships had already joined the fleet in orbit for scheduled departure the following day. Their window of opportunity was closing.

As they approached the spaceport's main guard gate, Tanja felt a knot in her stomach. Sensing her tension, Walfor reached over to squeeze her arm, but they had to maintain the appearance of two militia officers with a duty to perform. Tanja pulled away and whispered out of the side of her mouth. “You sure we can trust Enva Tazaar?”

“No, but we'll find out for sure soon enough.”

Tanja Hu instinctively despised the noble families of the Crown Jewels, including the Tazaars. They were corrupt, ambitious, self-centered, and had run roughshod over the DZ colonists for years. But Tanja also knew that Enva had previously made secret overtures to General Adolphus; even before her disgrace, Enva had been clear in her desire to overthrow Diadem Michella. Tanja didn't like being allied with such a woman, one of the corrupt nobles from the Crown Jewels, but she had to take the chance.

With a cocky and impatient smile, Walfor stepped up to the spaceport guard. He showed his access credentials and paperwork. “Special assignment to prepare one of the civilian ships as a decoy for the military assault tomorrow.”

The guard was a squarish, middle-aged woman who looked all muscle and no fat. “Why wasn't I informed of this?”

Walfor pushed the documentation in front of her. “You're being informed now.”

Instead of being suspicious, the woman let out a sigh. “Idiots. Approvals can't come through this office. I've told them three times since yesterday.”

Tanja stepped forward. “We have all the proper signatures and access prints.”

The guard squinted down at the papers, read them twice. “Yes, you have official signatures and access prints.” She called to another guard, who sat inside a small shack, “Ched, do you know about this?”

“Not a peep,” said Ched. “I try not to, though. My head is still spinning from all the other screw-ups today.”

The female guard handed the paperwork back and grudgingly called up a map on a screen. “Yes, here it is. The ship is already cleared for takeoff. It looks like you have a delivery scheduled before departure, one cargo container. They're bringing it in through the west gate.”

“That's part of the operation,” Tanja said, trying not to show her relief.

The guard, who seemed anxious to have her gate quiet and empty again, waved them inside. “You know which ship it is?”