The Englor Affair (5 page)

“Right, he was the angel of death. It’s a code name, but for who?” Simon asked.

“That is a good question. Do you think Benson wants us to go to the IN with the info we have?”

“I’m not doing anything until I find out more.”

“Good plan.”

“Maybe we can skip White’s and go straight to Jackson’s. A good fight might make me feel better.”

“I’m only boxing with you if you promise not to hit back.” Roc let go of the curtain and turned to face Simon. “We need to find Benson, and figure out what the bloody hell is going on.”

Lightning crackled and the lights flickered. Simon sat forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

In the foyer, right outside the study door, a deep male voice yelled, “Bloody hell.”

Then Dunston announced, “Colonel Eason is here to see you, Colonel.”

What was Wycliffe doing here? They were supposed to meet him at White’s. “Let him in, Dunston.”

Wycliffe stepped into the study, bringing the scent of rain with him. His Marine uniform was crisp and dry as was his black hair. He held his cover in his hand, his lips pressed tight in a grim line. Closing the door behind him, he sought out Simon’s gaze, then Roc’s. “Admiral Hawkins is coming to inspect the base.”

The lights flickered once again before going off. Immediately, the hum of Dunston’s backup generators whirled, and the lights came back on.

Simon groaned. “When it rains it pours?”

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It has occurred to me that on Englor I will have no need for a chaperone, and as far
as I know Nate has not procured one for me. And to think…all it took was a spy to kidnap
my brother and his stepson.

—
from the journal of Payton Marcus Townsend

Payton put his journal away and retrieved his com-pad when it beeped. He’d been waiting to see a likeness of Colonel Hollister for the last fifteen minutes. With all the excitement last night—arriving on the base and moving his things to his new room—he hadn’t gotten a chance to search for a picture of Colonel Hollister. When he’d begun his search this morning, he’d found it a lot harder than he’d expected. Hollister’s files were highly classified, probably due to his royal status. He had a high military rank, but as an admiral’s aide, Payton should have had access to it. He didn’t, but that hadn’t stopped him from obtaining it. He grinned and flipped through the file.

The picture was blurry, but Simon Hollister wasn’t at all what Payton expected. He was tall and thin. Very young looking. It was hard to tell what color his hair was because of the short military buzz cut, but it looked dark. Sadly there was no date on the picture.

Payton dragged his finger across the screen, flipping pages. There was an impressive war record, but no more photos. Why had the heir to Englor been in action? That couldn’t be right. Payton frowned. Hollister had joined the IN as a private and worked his way up to lieutenant. He’d served on a space destroyer for most of his IN career then joined the Englor Marines as a colonel in the cavalry. He’d then been given honorary rank of colonel in the IN and command of the Englor Base. His career in the military did not appear to be ornamental.
Interesting.

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Payton closed the file and turned off his com-pad. He’d have to search for another photo of Hollister. He’d never recognize the man if he ran into him.

Going to the washroom, he added locating another picture to his mental list.
Break in
to the IN intelligence and see if I can find anything on the IN spy who’d kidnapped Aiden,
under the name Caldwell. Find a better picture of Hollister. Crack that damned code.

Galaxy, he had a lot of work ahead of him.

Upon spying his reflection in the mirror, Payton smiled. He almost looked…handsome. No one would dare call him cute in IN dress whites. This was a uniform that inspired power and authority, not cuteness. The uniform also made him look…bigger. He turned sideways, trying to see his back. He really
did
look larger. The shoulder boards and gold cords made his chest look wider and not so adolescent, more like a man. His height, however, was a lost cause. He was short and no way was he wearing high heels to change that. Smoothing his hands down the front of his uniform, he stepped away from the mirror. He’d always thought military uniforms were dashing.

Payton walked away from the mirror and out of the tiny dark-blue-tiled washroom.

His small room had stark white walls, a twin bed with iron headboard and footboard. It had a simple iron and wood desk and chair opposite the door and an oak dresser across from the bed. The only real color was the navy carpet, single curtain over the window across from the door and the bedspread. It wasn’t at all what he was used to, but it wasn’t bad. The room had a simple, masculine feel to it. He kind of liked it. It was…normal.

The knock at the door made Payton jump. That must be Lieutenant Tavis, to take him to his office.

Late last night, Lieutenant Tavis had shown him and Nate to their quarters. This morning, Nate was touring the base with Colonel Hollister, aka heir to the throne of Englor, aka the man Payton and Nate were investigating, while Payton scoped out the computers in their offices and made certain everything was secure. He and Nate hadn’t said much last night, being unsure of their privacy, but Nate had made it clear that Payton was supposed to familiarize himself with the surveillance situation on the base and in their offices in particular.

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Payton crossed to the door, opened it and came face to chest with a pristine white navy uniform with shiny gold buttons covering an impressive torso, standing at attention.

Lifting his head, he finally found the officer’s handsome face. Mmm…the man smelled fresh out of the shower. Yes, his brown hair was still a little damp. He must have come directly from his own housing.

Payton fought back a wince—he hated lying about who he was—and smiled instead.

“At ease.”

Lieutenant Tavis’s coppery eyes danced with merriment as his stance eased. The man was very cheerful, Payton noticed it last night as well. “Good morning, Lieutenant.”

He stepped aside, allowing Payton to exit. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did, thank you. I appreciate you showing me to my office.” Payton turned back to the desk where his black com-pad bag lay. “Just a moment, I need to get my computer and I’ll be ready to go.” He grabbed his bag, slinging the strap over his shoulder. After letting the door close behind him, he pressed his thumb to the scanner on the door and locked it.

“Have you eaten breakfast, sir?” Tavis dipped his head to a fellow soldier in passing before glancing at Payton.

On Regelence during the season, breakfast began at ten o’clock or later. Payton wasn’t accustomed to eating so early. Nor was he accustomed to getting up so early.

There were times when he and his brothers were just getting home from a ball at five in the morning. “Please, call me Payton. I’m not much of a breakfast person. I’m supposed to meet Admiral Hawkins for lunch later.”

“Then please call me Edward. Mind if I ask you a question, Payton?” Tavis sounded so serious. His gaze darted around and the look on his face grew hesitant.

“I can’t say until you ask me.” Payton grinned, trying to ease the tension and encourage the man to talk. Anything he learned and any friend he made while here on Englor could potentially benefit him.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” He chuckled and continued to lead Payton outside the glass doors at the end of the hall and into the bright sunlight. It was chilly and windy out, 34

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The Englor Affair

though thankfully the uniform was nice and thick. If he went a great length he’d need to get his coat, but judging from last night’s quick observation when they’d arrived, his office wouldn’t be far. Tavis wasn’t wearing a coat.

Payton tried not to look at Tavis, not wanting to pressure him, but he was curious what the man was so reluctant to ask. Since it was daytime, Payton took the time to look around for anything he might have missed last night. There was a sidewalk meandering around a grassy campus. Each of the buildings were a good twenty to thirty feet apart and connected by the wide cement sidewalk.

Finally, the lieutenant broke the silence, nodding like he’d come to a decision. “What is he like? The admiral?”

Payton had expected something like that. Nate, being a native Englorian and one of the most powerful men in the IN, would definitely be a source of curiosity. Not to mention the soldiers thought Nate was here to inspect their base. Which he was. It just wasn’t the only reason they were here. “He’s a good man, fair, just don’t get on his bad side. But most of the time he has a good sense of humor.”

Tavis pointed at a set of brick buildings with several men going in and out, all in uniform, some blue, some white. “That’s the mess hall.”

Good galaxy, all the men were so big. Payton suppressed the urge to grin. It was always nice to have pleasant scenery. What, was it some rule you had to be over six foot and musclebound to be on this base? Not that Payton was complaining, he preferred big men, but it made him feel… Maybe he’d take advantage of the gym while he was here.

Shrugging his bag up on his shoulder, he made himself stop gawking. Heck, he needed to workout just to be able to haul his bag around. It was getting heavy. “Are you Englorian, Edward?”

Tavis nodded. “Yes. Admiral Hawkins is a bit of a legend around here. Did you know his family is part of the peerage of Englor? His father is the Duke of Hawthorne.

Englorians are quite proud to claim him as one of our own. Most of polite society isn’t even aware of his unfortunate marriage.”

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His unfortunate marriage?
Nate married a prince, third in line to the throne of Regelence, if one didn’t count Cony. How was that unfortunate?
Oh.
Tavis referred to the fact that Aiden was a man instead of a woman. Payton swallowed the lump in his throat.

He’d known Englor was not like Regelence, Nate had warned him so, but the way Tavis said that… Payton’s stomach clenched. Tavis hadn’t sounded hostile, but it was clear from what he’d said some soldiers thought preferring men to women was a defect in one’s personality.
What have I gotten myself into?
It was a stark reminder that he was on foreign soil.

“Ah, here we are. These are the IN offices. The building across the way”—Tavis pointed at a white building with a rounded portico with four Doric columns supporting it—“is the Englor Marine officers office building.” They stopped in front of a red brick colonial-style building with white fluted columns on either side of the door. He opened the glass door and held it open for Payton to precede him. “Colonel Hollister, our base commander, has his office in the Englor Marine building—technically, he’s both an IN

officer and an Englor Marine officer—but everyone else you may need to contact should be in here.”

Payton nodded. It was good to know. He’d have to pull up that building’s surveillance cameras to get a look at Hollister.

When they walked in there were several people milling about, men and women, all in IN uniforms.

Payton swallowed hard, feeling like a phony. His heart sped up. There was such respect and tradition in the IN that he felt ashamed for deceiving these people. He consoled himself with the fact that it was necessary to protect his home, his family and his beloved Regelence.

A tall thin ensign stepped forward. “Permission to speak freely, Lieutenant?”

“Permission granted”—Payton glanced at the man’s name tag—“Adams.”

Adams smiled. “Were you with Admiral Hawk on Regelence when he was promoted to Admiral?”

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Not only was there excitement in the ensign’s voice, but Payton noticed he suddenly had undivided attention from the room as a whole. These men and women clearly looked to Nate as a hero, a sort of celebrity. It amused him further knowing his brother-in-law would grumble about the attention and his brother would beam proudly while encouraging the admiration of his spouse. He could almost hear Aiden bubbling over with details about the ceremony, and Nate mumbling at him to behave. “Yes, I was. I was lucky enough to have been present at the ceremony.”

There were excited whispers about Nate’s heroics and him in general.

Tavis dipped his head, not even trying to conceal his grin. “If you’re ready, Lieutenant, I’ll show you to your office. It’s right next to the admiral’s.” He held out his hand, indicating the way to the offices.

“Yes, please.” Payton followed Tavis toward a narrow hallway.

As they left, a man from behind them quietly said, “Too bad the admiral is a sodomite.” A fair amount of hostility laced the voice, and Payton had to fight the urge to turn around to spot the speaker.

His spine stiffened in outrage and he had to remind himself to relax. He wanted to give them all a piece of his mind. The only thing that stopped him and made him continue down the hall was his resolve to finish this assignment, for the sake of his planet.

Bloody hell and imploding stars.
Payton resisted banging his head against the desk.

He’d known hacking into the IN Intelligence agency would be tough, but it was bloody nerve-wracking as well. He had to take extra precautions to make certain his efforts to break in weren’t detected. He’d been trying for the past few hours and gotten nowhere. A challenge was nice, but it was getting old. There had been nothing but challenges since he started working on deciphering the message Trouble had confiscated. His brain hurt.

At least he hadn’t had to worry about the personnel on the base seeing what he was up to. His desk faced the door, with his computer out of eyeshot to anyone unless they came into the office and stepped up behind him. There wasn’t even a window at his back that he had to worry about—it was to his side at the end of the office—so he’d elected to www.samhainpublishing.com 37