Tears of Kerberos (24 page)

“I don’t think so. My deal. My rules. Where I go, my crew goes,” she said firmly.

The man shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by her disagreement. He turned and indicated for them to go with him. Teresa nodded to her team and they all followed.

The man moved off down the main street and past a number of the stalls before turning off to the right. There was a large space, big enough for two stalls that led to a small doorway guarded by another two men. These were wearing custom private security firm armour and both carrying L48 carbines, military issue. Teresa stopped in front of the men and stared at their gear. The short man turned back intrigued by her interest.

“A problem?” he asked.

“I’m just curious. Why do your men have military issue L48 carbines?”

“You’re familiar with military hardware then?” he asked with a hint of suspicion.

“You can bet your ass I am. We’ve been looking for a shipment of the new L48a carbines for a customer on Prime. You got any?”

“L48a, never heard of them.”

“Ah well, your loss. Shall we get to business?” asked Teresa before realising she may have overstepped her bounds.

Antonius looked at her again, his face giving little away. He turned back to the door the guards opened for him.

“This way,” he beckoned and then disappeared inside.

Teresa looked around, there was of course a chance this could be a set up but they’d only find that out by going in. With a deep breath she stepped inside, her hand waiting on the holster just in case. It was a dark room, much darker than the aisle and stalls in the rest of the station. In the centre was a desk, lit by just one small light hanging from the ceiling. Antonius sat down behind the desk. From the darkness behind him were two tall men, again dressed in the best armour money could buy and armed with the illegally obtained L48 carbines. Antonius indicated that Teresa should sit down.

She lowered herself down, the other four crewmates staying behind her like a schoolyard gang waiting for a fight.

“Now, to business. Our mutual contact tells me you’re interested in a trade for weapons. A risky business trading in weapons.” He pulled out a cigar from one of the many drawers fitted in the desk. No one else in the room said anything and Teresa just looked at him, long and hard. She was trying to look like a hardened trader but it was really something she knew nothing about. One of the guards pulled out a lighter and as he did so Teresa and Bishop whipped out their weapons to point at Antonius. He started to laugh.

“I like your reaction, you’re a little edgy though, yes?”

“And you’re a little overweight, shall we cut to the chase?” said Teresa finally.

He stopped laughing and stared at her eyes, looking for something.

“No need to be rude now is there?”

He pulled out a datapad and placed it on the table.

“Here is what I have, four hundred L31 rifles and four hundred thousand rounds of ammunition. How about you, what did you bring to the table?”

Teresa thought for a moment, she knew her ship contained no goods of note, just the computer equipment, weapons and ammunition they would need for their operation. She also guessed that the station scanners had already checked the ship and had a rough idea of the amount of gear on board. At least she hoped so. She thought back to what Agent Johnson had said. The best place to hide something was in plain view.

“Nothing,” she said with a smile on her face, “just information.”

Antonius puffed two rings of smoke at her before removing the cigar.

“Information? This should be interesting.”

* * *

The door to the anteroom opened and out walked the President, quickly followed by General Rivers. As they were going past the General slowed for a second so he could speak with Spartan.

“We’ve got a situation here, we are about to release a statement and I need you to be ready.”

Spartan nodded but he had no idea what the rush was. Marcus joined him as they followed the pair though the main foyer and then towards a corridor. From memory Spartan thought this route led directly to the Assembly Building, but he wasn’t completely sure.

“Listen, the Bishop of Yama started a speech ten minutes ago, without the presence of the President. He says he has a proposal to solve the problems of the Confederacy and something tells me it is going to be a problem.”

“I don’t understand, Sir, why haven’t you been allowed to speak yet?”

“Spartan, you’re not the only one wondering about that. The President has sent a security team to remove the Bishop.”

“Remove? Isn’t that a bit risky?” asked Marcus.

“He has a point, with all the cameras in the Assembly it will look like he is being silenced,” Spartan added.

“Perhaps, it isn’t my call though.”

They moved into the main Assembly Building through one of the doorways on the higher level. As expected the Bishop was addressing the crowd. Luckily the President seemed to have done the sensible thing and hadn’t sent his security forces to remove him. He did however go to his own podium and gave the signal to cut the amplification to the Bishop. As the electrical system lost power, the Bishop’s voice continued but at a greatly diminished volume.

“I apologise for interrupting but this session is supposed to be closed until the security situation is resolved,” said the President.

Some of the representatives started to shout and complain at the sudden removal of the Bishop’s platform. One even went so far as to try and gain entrance to the media booth to reactivate the audio system. One of the guards pushed her back and a small scuffle broke out.

“Mr President, I meant no disrespect. Some of the delegates asked to hear my thoughts on the current predicament and as a man of morality and faith I felt compelled to speak. Perhaps we should all go outside to discuss this if we are not welcome in this chamber?”

A great chorus or shouting and anger erupted among the members still present. Almost half of the representatives that were present during the explosions had left. The Bishop lifted his hand, calling for silence and incredibly those in the room did as he requested. General Rivers had already assessed the situation and decided to strike fast before the opportunity was lost. He walked down to the podium being used by the Bishop and pushed out his hand to shake the Bishop’s.

With a forced smile the Bishop took his hand. “Bless you, my son,” he said.

“Thank you, Bishop. I’m sure many here would like to hear you speak, as would I,” he said as he turned to the cameras.

“I do have an urgent message on behalf of Admiral Jarvis of the Confederate Navy, who is also the senior representative of the Confederacy in this sector. Once I have conveyed this message I’m sure the President will be able to get the Assembly back on course for discussion.”

The Bishop looked a little irritated at the interruption but with so many cameras now pointing at the two men he appeared to give ground. Perhaps sensing it would be a good idea to get this out of the way rather than spend the time having a publicised debate. He stepped to one side and looked off to the side of the room where a number of the Church members were seated. He turned back, his face already changing to an expression of anger. He lifted his hands and pushed the General back and away from the podium.

“Admiral Jarvis has brought death and destruction upon our people. The good citizens of Proxima have for too long been worked to the bone for the benefit of your Admiral and your precious Confederacy. Today we have a proposal that will improve the lives of our citizens forever and it will start by the dissolution of the Confederacy!” he shouted.

General Rivers stood in silence, completely surprised by the outburst from the apparently calm and collected Bishop. Spartan had already stepped forward to ensure no one else came too close to the General and guards for the Bishop did the same. A great commotion came from the side of the room as black armoured guards rushed and in and surrounded the Bishop. The President walked to the podium, flanked by his own guards though with so many armed men it was starting to give a very dark and dangerous impression.

“Bishop, General Rivers, I suggest we keep this discussion for tomorrow when the Assembly convenes,” he said, trying to stay as neutral as he could manage.

With a flick of his wrist the security units moved in on the Bishop and forcibly pulled him from the podium. As soon as he started to struggle, the cameras and press were on him. As they tried to get closer a number of the guards did the same with the press and in less than five minutes the building was empty of all but the most die hard supporters of the President. He was still stood at the podium, surrounded by his guards.

“Mr President, that is not what I wanted,” said General Rivers.

“Neither did I, but this Bishop has been preaching an end to capitalism and an end to secularism for the last decade. He cannot and must not been given a platform to continue his message of hate.”

“I understand, you do realise this is going to get a lot worse?”

“How can it get any worse, General?”

The General shook his head. “Are you serious, Mr President? In my experience things can always get worse, a lot worse. If you want to control this thing you need to diffuse the platform he has built for himself. Announce something substantial that will make his sermons appear impotent. Whatever you do though, do it fast!”

“Come with me, I think I need a drink right now!” said the President.

General Rivers sighed as he realised the President wasn’t likely to do anything significant in the next few hours. The President started to walk away when an advisor approached and started whispering to him. General Rivers, sensing it was important moved closer.

“Yes?” asked the advisor.

“Don’t you ‘yes’ me! What is the problem?” demanded the General.

The President nodded to his advisor, giving him the go ahead to speak.

“Well, General, we’re getting information from the public network stream that the church of Echidna is going to make an announcement prior to the opening of the Assembly Building tomorrow morning. They say it will change Kerberos and Proxima forever and we can expect a demonstration of their power.”

“Power? Pah!” snorted the President. “This is just more rhetoric, we’ve had this for years now. Their announcement will be just another social programme or more likely, an attempt to reclaim their tax concessions for the Church.”

“Sir, the stream indicated that a large number of groups will...” started his advisor before being cut off.

“Look, Wilkins, I’m getting a little bored with these people. Notify the security staff and report back to me at five thirty in the morning. Let them have their talks and streams. It will keep them busy while we get ready to deal with the real problems tomorrow. There are more important issues at stake than one Church!” He stomped off along with his guards.

“Idiot!” muttered General Rivers to himself before turning to Spartan.

“I need a secure link to Admiral Jarvis and fast, something is coming and if I’m right we’re going to need one hell of a plan to get around it.”

He acknowledged the General as he watched the President disappear around the corner, still complaining as he went.

* * *

The early morning light had already started to burn through the cloud cover when the Bishop and his entourage arrived outside of the Assembly Building. The crowds had increased overnight and they now numbered in the thousands. Most were there to hear the message from the Bishop about improvements to their lives and the promises the Church had made in the last few hours. A token number of police were scattered along the perimeter of the Assembly Building. At first glance it looked like a soft hand with regards to policing, in reality most of the riot police were deployed within the compound waiting for the word to move to where they were needed most. Mixed in with the crowd were the scores of press, some with cameras, others with microphones and all waiting for the word from the single most important person on Kerberos that day, the Bishop of Yama.

He stood up on top of the burnt relic of the Church, so recently damaged and scarred by a bomb attack. This ancient relic was already becoming even more important in its damaged state than it ever had been as a survivor from the Iconoclast Controversy so many years before.

“Good people of Yama. I come to you today as a humble man, a man of the Church and a man of peace. I am not here to stir up hostility or resentment. I am here to help turn your lives into those of joy and fulfilment. Let me tell you a terrible story, one of intolerance, depravity and the base desires of men in power. I am in touch with our brothers on every colony, ship and station in Proxima and they all tell me the same thing. When will they end? I tell you all, the time is coming!” he cried.