Edward (14 page)

“Tazo,
Line Trooper, First Class.  Reporting for duty!”

Edward
blinked and looked at the Shukurae standing in the door to the room.  How
early in the morning was it?  Did people actually get up this early or was
this some sick joke?  Oh… It was about time to get up…

“Make
the bad man go away,” murmured Tatiana.

“I
second that,” grunted Zoë.

Edward
blinked again.  Right…  “Um, Tazo, could you give us some privacy
please?  Maybe wait in the living room?”

“Oh, sorry sir.”

“Tazo,
the name is Edward, not sir.”

“Sorry, Edward.”

“Better. 
Now scoot!”

 A
quick shower and fresh clothes and Edward found his room empty.  What was
he getting himself into?  Gillian’s words echoed through his brain again—this
wasn’t the Highlands; people here didn’t have relationships like this, and they
sure as heck didn’t have families like that.  Edward froze at the thought
of ‘family.’  Ouch!  Was this just goofing off, best friends with
benefits, or was this
actually
going to go someplace.  Did that
mean he was moving here?  Was one or both of them moving back to the
Highlands of Afon?  There were two of them, they were now best of friends,
how was he supposed to pick one without hurting the other one?  Was one of
them supposed to dump him?  Edward’s head was swimming.  Girls were
complicated on the best of days and now he was involved with two.  Oh
well, at least he wasn’t hiding the fact from the other one.  Like that was
supposed to make his situation easier…  Back on task!  The new
Shukurae!

Edward
entered the living room to find Tazo sitting, or rather squatting, on the couch
next to Gillian who was enjoying her morning coffee.  Tazo started to
stand as Edward approached and Edward glared at him.  Apparently the glare
translated well enough as Tazo returned to the couch, and Edward sat across
from him.

“You
are Kadu’s replacement then?  That was quick.”

“I
was an alternate for the 517
^th
a week ago when the other half of the
team was mobilized so I was already in system on standby.”

Edward
nodded; that was par for Shukurae efficiency. “Fair enough. 
Can you give me some background on yourself?  Have you run with a Silver before?”

Tazo
nodded politely. “I’ve been six months on the line.  Four months of that I
was teamed with a Silver by the name of Linus Thanesgeld from the Highland
regions around Annasfjord.”

“Annasfjord?”
interrupted Edward.  “Whew!  That is way out on the north-west tip.”

“Yes,
and apparently it runs quite cold out there, too.” 

“And
Linus left, got hurt?”

Tazo
grimaced, “He quit after a series of raids went very poorly.  The Line
Centurion, while a nice person and well organized, did not do well in the fog
of war.  Linus’s complaints fell on deaf ears for several months, so after
a particularly…unpleasant raid, he resigned.  At his exit interview he was
granted an audience with Grand Centurion Toch.”

Edward
whistled, “Oh, I bet that went over well.”

Tazo
grinned, “Sarcasm.  Kadu warned me of it.  Needless to say, Toch took
Linus’s complaints seriously and not only was the Line Centurion replaced, but
two people on the review board as well.”

“Ouch! 
Well, I’m just glad you’ve had experience around a Silver
and know what to expect.”

Tazo
nodded. “The technical aspects of your combat style I am aware of.  I also
spent most of yesterday morning conversing with Kadu as she tried to appraise
me of your particular style.”

“Did
she tell you much about the job?”

“Not
really, just the very basics.  She said much of the knowledge was in flux
and it would be best to learn that from Trevor.”

“That
is Kadu, practical.  The morning routine is to get them to rehearsal on
time and then there is a bit of dead time to chat up Trevor and the likes.”

“That
makes very good sense.  I understand the rehearsal hall is very secure
nowadays.”

Edward
gritted his teeth, “Yeah, and it took more work than
we thought to get it there.”

“Do I
also understand correctly that we operate independently of the rest of the
unit?  That is most unusual.”

Edward
cocked an eye at Tazo, “I smell a trap.  You talked with Kadu all morning
and that didn’t come up?”

Tazo
grinned broadly, “Very good!  Kadu said I could get a good rise out of you
by pressing the issue.”

“Okay,
I’ll get Kadu for that.  And oh, by the way, stay out of the bedrooms,
eh?   That’s not funny, I don’t care what Kadu says.”

Tazo
nodded solemnly, “Understood.  I am not in a position of familiarity to
properly understand those social bounds, thus I should stand clear of them
until all parties are in much better standing.”

Edward
nodded, “Fair enough.  So any quick questions before we head out?”

Tazo
hung his head, “Which one is Tatiana?  All of you fuzzies look the same…”

“Long white hair.”

Edward
stood next to Tazo while Trevor ran down the morning briefing over the
comlinks.  Rehearsal had been underway for over an hour and all was going
as normal, good, bad and otherwise.

“The
River of Tears motorcycle gang has all but been destroyed.  Between the
actions the other night and then subsequent police action, they are all but
gone,” began Trevor.

“Are
we worried about sympathetic actions from other gangs?” came
Jake’s voice.

“Not
at this time.  The other groups appear to be ostracizing the remaining members
in an effort to distance themselves from the previous activities,” replied
Trevor.  “In light of the other night’s activities, the CEO of the Nedej
Consortium has sacked the local director of operations.  In addition, she
has requested that the 1212
^th
CSOG to be on planet in two days to
take care of security of that building and associated businesses.  That
action came as a great relief to the local police and the prefect, but is
causing no small amount of strife with the governor’s office.

“It
is becoming clear that there is more of an underworld on this planet than was
first apparent; the motorcycle gangs apparently have basically been running the
poorer areas of several of the cities for years and have increasingly become
violent.  But their violence has been carefully directed only at the
poorer areas.  As was apparent from the raid, they are also getting hold
of more and more military grade equipment.  It should be pointed out that
we are not here as a police force, we are here to protect the client. 
Superficially, one would assume that with the River of Tears tucking their
tails and running and the other gangs steering clear of us, we aren’t going to
see much of them.”

Edward
laughed to himself.  He knew Trevor too well, something else was up.

“Here
is a name for everyone: Police Constable Johann Talvis.  Yes, the officer
that masterminded at least two bombings and got three people killed; he is back
to haunt us.  Two years ago he was the officer in charge at a building
demolition site where a series of thermobaric charges were stolen.  It
turns out that those were the same type charges that Alex and Edward had to
face down the other night.  We have no idea how deep the connection goes
between Mr. Talvis and the River of Tears, but quite frankly, it scares
me.  These people have had access to equipment and information on the
inside, and I seriously doubt Talvis was the only one.  To say that they
are a wild card is a gross understatement.”

Edward
poked Tazo playfully, “Remember, you volunteered!”

“Yes
indeed!  It does sound like quite a fun challenge!”

Edward
rolled his eyes; it was supposed to have been a joke.  There was a time
when he would have been giddy as well.  Maybe he
was
getting old.
 

“Rebecca
Ravenswell’s fan club: some of you may have heard bits and pieces but the RRFC,
as Takru likes to call it, appears to be the original source of our problems
and why we were contracted.  Between our own work, and the coordinated
work of the local police, we have five people in custody facing formal charges
and another two pending.  What makes this group difficult to track is
there is little to no overlap in those people’s normal lives or routines. 
They have two things in common: they love Rebecca Ravenswell, and they believe
that Tatiana’s concert must be canceled for their favorite diva to rise
again.  This is not a rational business discussion; it is not as if there
are any producers lining up to put on a live show of Rebecca’s.  Instead
this is more of a cult following.  Yet someone
has
to be organizing
them; their actions show a great deal of planning.  Many of the people
were involved in aspects of the planning that were finished months later by a
different party.  Someone is running the show, and we need to find who
that is or, at the very least, snatch up all their puppets before they cause
any more problems.”

“Oh
yeah, I almost forgot…”

That
got a laugh out of everyone.  Trevor
never
forgot anything.

“We
still have no solid connection with the gunman with either of the two
parties.  The gunman has been cooperating, but he does not know who hired
him.  Very professional.  Just in case
things were looking too cut and dry!  Well, that is about it.  If you
have any questions, text ‘em in and I’ll post a giant response to all of them
later today.  Good day and good hunting!”

“And
all of this is complicated as Tatiana likes being in and among her fans,”
observed Tazo to Edward.  “I can see why having an
exceptional Silver was deemed paramount to success.  Who else could
work that close, with that little warning, and still protect the client?”

Edward
blew a raspberry, “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

Tazo
smiled, “If that constitutes flattery, you would be deeply embarrassed to hear
Kadu talk of you.   She calls you ‘little brother’?”

Edward
laughed, “I can’t escape from her, can I?  Yeah, I’d started calling her
‘big sister’ not too long ago.  I guess it struck a tone with her.”

“She
has no biological brothers,” Tazo beamed.

“I
didn’t know that.  Quite honestly, I’m embarrassed how little I knew about
her after having served together for almost a year.”  Suddenly Edward’s
comlink chirped.  He looked down at it with no small amount of dread
before finally clicking on it. “Edward here, what blew up?”

The
sound of Trevor laughing came in over the link, “Well I don’t think it is that
bad.  Calling to see if you are up for having a guest
over for a day later this week.”

“Um,
do I get to know who, or do I just have to say ‘yes or no’ in the dark?” asked
a confused Edward.

Trevor
laughed again, “Sorry about that.  It’s your brother Llewellyn.”

That
threw Edward for a loop; Llewellyn was hardly ever off planet.  What could
be up?  “Why is he out and about?”

“You
could ask him,” suggested Trevor.

Edward
laughed, “Okay, sure.  All else fails that will be the most secure day
ever.”

“I do
hope no one tries anything when he shows.  I’m not sure the governor wants
any new parks in the middle of town,” murmured Trevor.   “Well, I’ll
pass that back up the chain.  Out.”

“Out,”
replied Edward. 

“I do
not mean to pry, but are you and your brother on uneven terms,” asked Tazo
carefully.

Edward
smiled, “No, no.  That is a fair question; we are generally on good
terms.  He keeps trying to get me to resign and start a family, and I want
to keep pushing myself.”  Edward paused as he thought a bit, “That’s odd,
I haven’t really given much thought to the whole ‘High Silver’ thing in some
time.”

“Is
that good?”

Edward
laughed, “My brother would say so.  I’m not sure.  I’m going to have
to do some serious thinking about that.  Am I wasting my time?  Have
I lost my focus?  Have I gotten distracted?”

“From
what I have read of the after-action reports, you seem to be operating at top
form.  It does not appear that you are ‘slacking’ in any sense of the
word.”

“I
appreciate that, but have you ever read the reports of my brothers in action?”

“You
have multiple brothers, yes?  Which one?”

Edward
snorted, “Any of them.”  No, Tazo deserved better than bitter
sarcasm.  “Pull the after action review of volunteer mission for the
rescue and reprisal following the murder of Ambassador Helen of the
Highlands.  Both of my brothers were involved in that; it will give you a
rough idea of what it means to be a ‘High Silver.’”

Tazo
nodded, “I will indeed look into that.”   He stared across the crowd
of performers, “They have stopped.  Is there a problem?”

Edward
looked up and laughed, “Nope, just the fourth number coming back to bite their
tails.  It is a difficult piece. They keep getting better, but the closer
they get to opening day, the closer to perfection Gillian expects!”

“That
seems reasonable.  So the principals are into rote repetition while the
others recuperate?”

“Correct.” 
Edward scanned the group.  Sure enough Zoë was sitting on the
sidelines.  “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go talk with someone.” 
Edward didn’t wait for a response; he quickly made his way over to the side and
next to Zoë.  “Hello, Zoë.  Can we talk?”

Zoë
beamed back at him, “Of course!  What is on your mind?”

Edward
fidgeted with his tail as his color started to slowly cycle.

Zoë
grinned broadly, “Oh, this is about Tatiana, isn’t it?”

“Yes,
but… Actually it is about all three of us.”

Zoë
giggled, “I was curious who was going to bring that up first.  Tatiana
wants you to dump me?”  she asked, suddenly
concerned.

Edward
shook his head, “She hasn’t said a thing.  I’m just trying to figure out
what the heck we are all doing.  I mean, back in the Highlands this
wouldn’t be much of anything to speak of, but…”

“We
aren’t in the Highlands,” chuckled Zoë.  
She reached over and beeped him on the nose and laughed as his fur stood on
end.  “You are the nicest person I’ve ever been with, ever.  That is
a simple fact.  This is also the strangest relationship I’ve ever been in,
bar none!” Zoë smiled.  “But you know what?  I don’t care. 
Maybe I’m channeling some Highland ancestor from five hundred years ago. 
Maybe it’s just because my own ‘traditional’ family I grew up in was such a
horrid mess.  But I’m comfortable with our current arrangement.  You
appeared
to be comfortable with it.  Someone comb your fur backwards about it all?”

“Mom
just wanted to make sure I thought things through.  And she’s right: I
hadn’t thought much about it.  Kinda normal for Highlanders, but as you
both pointed out, you two aren’t Highlanders and this isn’t Afon.”

Zoë
laughed, “Yeah, well
Mom
is trying to look out for everyone.  And
she is correct: I’m not sure any of us have thought this through very
well.”  Zoë stared Edward square in the eyes, “Would you be willing to
give up the Highlands for us?”

Edward
grinned, “That’s a big step.  A few months ago the thought wouldn’t have
even crossed my mind.  Part of me hopes I wouldn’t have to make that
choice.  I know that is selfish.  But I’m beginning to think that I
might just be willing to do that.”

“I really
like you.  I want you.  But I think Tatiana
needs
you. 
She has crap for friends; most of them are sycophants.  Her mom has been
dead for years, and while Gillian is doing a great job, it’s never the
same.  And when is the last time you heard her talk about her
father?  You come from a strong family.  Strong and
focused.  She needs that.  I don’t want to let go of you, but
it may be that she needs you more than I do.  Now that is
me
being
selfish.”

“Ouch. 
Um, well I don’t want to let go of either of you.”

“It’s
all a big mess, eh?” grinned Zoë.

“Yes, ma’am.

“It’s
okay, we’ll work it out together.  Just promise
me one thing.”

“Sure. 
What’s that?”

“Just
be honest.  To her, to me, to yourself.”

Edward
smiled, “That sounds like something Kadu would have said.”

“Does
it make it any less appropriate?”

“No, maybe more so.” 
Edward nodded, “I’ll do my best to be honest to all of us.”

Zoë
smiled, “Good!  Now go!  Tazo is looking confused.”

Edward
turned to look and sure enough, there stood Tazo.  He looked like a dog
that had just heard a high pitched noise that he couldn’t locate.  Edward
laughed, “I better go rescue him.  Thanks Zoë.”

“Thank
you, Edward,” smiled Zoë.   “Your fur is still on end!” she whispered
back.  “You might want to do something about that!”

Edward
scampered back to Tazo as he fought to get his fur under control, “Are you okay
Tazo?”

“Yes,
indeed.  I was worried about you.  You were showing all the secondary
characteristics of someone under great stress, in great fear, yet the source of
the emotional turmoil appeared to be the young lady.  The
same young lady… that was with us this morning.”

Edward
gritted his teeth, “I was hoping my nervousness was not quite so obvious. 
I guess I failed at that.”

“Did
she threaten you?”

Edward
lost it on that one, “Not hardly.” 

Edward
nervously bided his time for the lunch break and then did his best to thread
through the throngs of hangers-on and sycophants to approach Tatiana. 
Gillian caught sight and interceded, “Okay, move people.  Security needs
to brief the client.”  It seemed obvious to Edward from Gillian’s grin
that ‘security’ wasn’t exactly the point of the discussion.

“Um,
you have time to talk?” asked Edward nervously.

“Sure!”
responded Tatiana all aglow.  Suddenly she soaked in Edward’s nervous
state and became nervous herself, “Oh crap!  I saw you talking with Zoë
earlier; she didn’t dump you did she?”

Edward
was taken aback, “Huh? Oh, no!  Nothing like that!”

Tatiana
relaxed visibly, “Good, good!  Made me nervous there!  So what is on
your mind?”

“Um,
I’m trying to figure out what is going on with us.  As
in all three of us.  Back in the Highlands this would be no big
deal…”

“But
we aren’t in the Highlands,” finished Tatiana with a laugh.  She stared at
the ceiling and thought a bit, “Every boyfriend I’ve ever had has ended up
cheating on me.  I’ve never been dumped, just cheated on.”

Edward
was more than a little confused, “So this is sort of cheating to start with?”

Tatiana
grinned, “I was curious if that was what I was doing, just picking out who was
cheating with whom to save me the trouble and embarrassment from finding out
later.  Nope.  I wasn’t setting myself up for failure.  I’m just
more comfortable with
both
of you around.  You are more than a
little intense as a person.  I’m not sure I’m strong enough on my
own.  Heaven knows I’d like to, but as much as I’d love to be with you,
Zoë
needs
to be with you.  Her family is dysfunctional at best, she
has to fight at every corner to stand on her own, and she busts her furry tail
just as much to care for her brother as her family won’t.  She could
really use a strong person like you.  Someone with a
strong sense of family.  My problem is,
I’m too much of a diva to hand you over; I want you too!”