Abysm (39 page)

Winslow seethed. “How dare you.”

Now Gagnon stood from his seat at the center of the long, arcing dais. “Prime Minister Winslow, evidence has been delivered to the Security Ministry and the Assembly Ethics Committee, including sworn testimony from the military officers involved, indicating you ordered two Marine special forces squads from Earth Alliance Central Command to covertly infiltrate Romane. Their orders were to assassinate the Romane governor and members of the IDCC leadership.

“Furthermore, the evidence indicates you ordered several of those special forces operatives to assist alleged members of the Order of the True Sentients in assassinating Dr. Abigail Canivon—an honored alumnus of the Earth Alliance civil service—a task which they tragically completed.”

Additional security agents rushed into the auditorium from opposite hallways, where they were halted by Jameson’s people. Their muted voices of confusion added to the renewed din, but Winslow’s shrill voice rose above it all.

“How can you believe anything this woman says? The evidence is fabricated, her charges specious. She is a traitor who finds herself alone and desperate to not lose power. I accuse her of ordering the murder of my son while he was in Romane police custody!”

A great furor broke out among the press, as this news was not yet public. Any security agents who had been prevaricating as to who to restrain were forced to concentrate on subduing the crowd.

Miriam gave Speaker Gagnon a small nod and began strolling down the outer walkway, as if oblivious to the restive turmoil around her.

“Allow me to declare this now: I am not a traitor, nor am I alone. I have dozens of flag officers prepared to come here to the Assembly and stand with me—but I thought it would get a mite crowded in here, so instead they have forwarded their sworn statements to Speaker Gagnon and Minister Jameson. Right about now, all major news outlets are receiving copies of their statements as well.

“Of course, I can have them here in a matter of minutes, if you truly believe I need someone standing beside me in order for me to be taken seriously.” She held Winslow’s furious scowl until the woman blinked.

“I didn’t think so. My evidence is quite thoroughly authenticated, I assure you. The Assembly already has all the evidence of your blackmail schemes it needs, but I’ve sent along some corroboration of those crimes, too. To cover all the bases.

“I am genuinely sorry your son took his own life, Prime Minister, for no parent should suffer the pain of losing a child. But the fact is he wasn’t just ‘involved’ with OTS—he was its founder and leader. And not only did you know this, you helped fund his murderous activities. You provided him Earth Alliance military personnel to use in his terrorist attacks.

“Prime Minister, how dare
you
. How dare you defile an institution sworn to protect the people. How dare you co-opt all the institutions of our great democracy to your own ends and for your own power.”

“Power? You would install yourself as a dictator then hand control over to your Prevo masters.”

Miriam paused mid-step and offered the room a soft, wry chuckle, letting her gaze pass across many in the now rapt press audience. Perhaps she was finally getting the hang of public performances after all.

“No. If the next prime minister doesn’t require my services, so be it. I’ll retire quietly. And I don’t see any Prevos here today, Prime Minister. Not in the Assembly. Or on the Strategic Command Board, or among the officer ranks. It’s not Prevos who are demanding your resignation—it’s your citizens and their leaders.”

Winslow did an admiral job of faking shock. “Resign? Absurd. I will do no such thing, nor will I bow to such preposterous and transparent grandstanding.”

“We’ll see. I came here to ensure the truth made it past your clutches to the press and the people everywhere listening. I’ve done what I came to do, and now I’ll trust our institutions to do their duty as well and see that justice is served.”

She happened to also be watching Minister Jameson move into position with two of his men, preparing to deliver yet worse news to Winslow. Security Ministry agents elsewhere were arresting several members of her administration even now, and Gagnon would shortly introduce a resolution of recall.

Miriam reached one of the entrances dotting the upper walkway of the auditorium and turned to the door, then stopped and gazed back over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, did someone want to arrest me?”

The press looked around at the security officers; the security officers looked at Jameson, followed by Gagnon; no one stepped forward.

“Very well, then. Mr. Speaker, carry on with your hearing.” She walked out the door, intending to return to the
Gambier
and allow events to unfold as they would.

Most of the reporters surged out of the chambers to surround her, so much so that Malcolm and Caleb both drew near to her in protective stances and a cadre of Jameson’s officers broke through the crowd to hold them back. Dozens of cams zoomed in the air above her.

On their mission channel, she heard Jameson asking Winslow to remain on the premises, as he had some questions for her once Speaker Gagnon concluded the hearing.

The shouts from the reporters overlapped one another. “Admiral Solovy, if Prime Minister Winslow is removed from office, will you give your support to Speaker Gagnon?”

She surveyed the reporters dispassionately. “It has always been my practice not to endorse politicians. I have no reason to doubt the Speaker’s qualifications, and I trust the system, and ultimately the people, to make the right decisions. I’m merely here to serve a Constitutional administration.

“But make no mistake—there is a blight in our government, one of cowardice and corruption. Whoever the next prime minister is, they and all government officials need to focus beyond the immediate crisis to the larger, more systemic problems and work to solve them.

“But this blight is not mine to fix—it’s theirs. A free and vigorous press will help guarantee they do, so get to work.”

39

SENECA

C
AVARE
I
NTELLIGENCE
D
IVISION
H
EADQUARTERS

R
ICHARD REVIEWED THE LATEST STATUS REPORT
from Agent Duarte. Five more suspected OTS members were now in custody; Quillen and three others had officially been charged with the Military Headquarters bombing and would remain in confinement pending their trials.

It was beginning to feel suspiciously like they were closing the chapter on OTS, and not solely on Seneca. Everywhere.

He minimized the report with an approving nod at Graham. “And peace is restored to the galaxy?”

Graham snorted. “We should be so lucky. But maybe a little, yes? It’s not as if we can just wave our hands and make everyone accept Prevos. Society, not to mention the way crimes are committed and the way we solve them, has been upended, and I doubt the upheaval is over. But…I guess if most everyone accepts that it
has
been upended, then we’ll manage.”

“True enough. Did I hear General Nicolo Bastian was named interim Field Marshal?” He’d never personally met the man, but he’d spent a few minutes in a meeting the general had attended. Tall, intense man who gave the impression of constantly holding coiled energy in check.

“Yep. Vranas wants to project the impression of normalcy. The Alliance government may be in shambles, but none of that silliness here, right? The appointment will probably be made permanent, though. Bastian’s a good man. Or a good officer, anyway. Speaking of the Alliance, what’s the latest from Miriam?”

“She’ll have to testify before an Ethics Council tribunal, but it’s a formality. She’s already back in her office at EASC. General Foster resigned from Northwest Regional Command in protest, but no one cares.

“The Assembly is holding a dozen hearings at once trying to cleanse its ranks
and
the administration’s ranks, but it’s messy. On the assumption the Supreme Judicial Court will invalidate BANIA next week, its leadership is also busy drafting a replacement law. I think they’re mostly stealing yours.”

Graham laughed heartily. “They’re welcome to it.” He ran a finger along the rim of his glass. “Where do you see yourself ending up now? If everything plays out well for Miriam, you might be able to rejoin the Alliance.”

It had nearly killed Richard to not be at Miriam’s side when she returned to Earth. Not because he felt she needed protecting—he was of the informed opinion that no one alive was more capable of taking care of themselves than Miriam Solovy—but because he wanted to be there to see her triumphant.

Still, he shook his head. “As a consultant, perhaps, but not the military. I’m retired for good and…I’m okay with it. But as a matter of fact, I do have an idea I’m interested in pursuing. Something new. And I’ll need both your and Miriam’s help to implement it.”

“Color me intrigued.”

Richard rubbed at his chin. “It gets back to what you were saying about society being upended and our willingness to embrace our new reality. We—those of us on the front lines, such as they are—have an opportunity to help shape what the new world looks like, and to give it its best shot at succeeding. This trifecta of powers—Alliance, Federation, IDCC? It has the potential to be a more stable, positive arrangement long term.”

“Gianno said much the same thing…” Graham’s gaze flitted to the window with a frown “…not long ago. The third player serves as a check if one government gets designs on bullying its opposite. Do you think the IDCC is a strong enough pillar, though?”

“I think we should encourage them to be.”

“You know something. Again.”

Richard shrugged. “Intelligence? Wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t. And I will tell you, since it’s your job, too—but first, my idea.”

Graham tossed a hand in his direction, and he continued. “These last few weeks, working to get Miriam the information she needed to execute on her strategy? I didn’t care what agency or government a source worked for as long as the intel was solid. I talked to friends, colleagues past and present, and individuals whose interests happened to briefly align with ours.

“And you know what? It worked. I suspect it worked because most of the time, in most situations, the mission isn’t about galactic war or political crises—it’s about saving a life and catching a criminal.”

“Big criminal this time.”

“Yes. And while I do sincerely hope we don’t need to take down any more heads of state any time soon, a big galaxy means big criminals. I want to be able to stop them effectively, without tripping over politics.”

Graham took a long, slow sip of his scotch. “You’re talking about intelligence sharing: a clearinghouse, a multi-jurisdictional agency or even a special group to be called upon when a significant threat arises. One like Montegreu, for instance. But you’re a low-key type of guy…so I’m betting on a mix of the first and second options.”

Richard chuckled. “Funny you mention Montegreu. Miriam has possession of her data store—and you didn’t hear this from me, but she’s cracked its security. But arguably the IDCC has as much of a right to the spoils it produces as the Alliance. Something having that much relevance for all colonies ought to be handled by an independent third party.

“I figure I’ll let one of the Prevos burn a microsecond or two to come up with an appropriately mysterious name, complete with a forbidding acronym. But yes. We need an INTERPOL for a new world.”

Graham’s brow furrowed. “Interpol?”

He sometimes forgot not everyone had studied history in more than generalities. “A police IGO in the 20
^th
and early 21
^st
centuries. Almost two hundred countries managed to
mostly
ignore political boundaries and work together to catch cross-border criminals for over a century. It eventually fell to corruption, shortly before irrelevance, but that’s simply a matter of execution. The principle is sound.”

Graham reached across the desk to refill Richard’s glass. Setting the tone for the evening. “And you’re going to head this new IGO?”

Richard had never sought the limelight, never desired to be the man at the podium. But it had been an insane, harrowing year…and as Will had pointed out the night before, he hadn’t merely weathered the storm, he’d kind of kicked its ass. So he shrugged and took a sip of expensive scotch. “I am.”

Graham guffawed. “As well you should. It’s bloody brilliant. We all ought to have thought of it before now, but we didn’t. You did, on account of you being smarter than the rest of us. I’m in, even if it means I’ll be left high and dry,
again
. I assume you’ll be enlisting Will to actually run the day-to-day of this thing, because why the hell wouldn’t you—and he’s better at that sort of work than you are.”

Richard shook his head. “This ‘thing’ doesn’t have a name, much less a base of operations, charter or employees. It’s a little early for those discussions.”

“Sure.” Graham’s eyebrow raised over his glass. He wasn’t buying it for an instant. And he was right…but there would be time for details later. For today, Richard decided, it was enough to be hopeful about the future.