''I heard. He's wanted me dead for a while now. I'm still breathing. He won't be much longer.''
''Longknife to the end,'' Tom snorted. ''You know, you can be killed. Eddy died. Don't you have a few grandparents that weren't as lucky as General Trouble?''
''Eddy didn't have a chance. He was six. I'm not six,'' Kris said low, her voice sparking flint.
''I… want… you… out… of… here,'' Jack said.
''And I'll be out of here, once I blow the yards and docks.''
''And kill Sandfire. It's personal now with you two.''
''If I get a bead on Sandfire, he's dead.'' Kris nodded. ''But priority one is blowing the yard and the damn fleet it's cobbling together. Jack, you know a hell of a lot of people are going to die if Sandfire gets what he wants. Klaggath's ready to throw himself at this mad drive to war. Klaggath and a couple of the Senators. They don't have a chance.''
''What makes you think you do?'' Jack shot at her.
Kris opened her mouth to shoot back a fast retort, then closed it. She couldn't claim she was the wild card in this game. Sandfire had dealt her in from the start… and she'd let herself be played. Kris's mind shot quickly through the last week. How much of it was her reacting to Sandfire? How much of it was her messing up his work? Little Nara Krief's kidnapping had not gone according to Sandfire's plan. What else?
''Jack, Sandfire has been running this place like it was his pet poodle. Yes, he ran me, too. He snagged Tom, and I walked right into his trap. But name me one person who could have pulled off the recon I did yesterday. One set of pictures, and everything Sandfire worked for went down the tubes.''
''So he got his pet President to declare martial law, and he's right back running the show,'' Jack pointed out.
''Right.'' Kris paused. ''Jack, you know I couldn't have gotten those pictures if a cabby hadn't been willing to stick his neck out. I wouldn't have gotten back here if a lot of women and men hadn't risked their lives for me.''
''And now you're telling me you owe them,'' Jack snapped.
''I was going to.'' Kris sighed. ''But maybe I ought to just leave it at this. There's a lot of people down there that deserve better. They want it. They've reached for it. I think we can give it to them. Why not try? What's so magic about us bugging out tonight? Why not tomorrow night, or the next one? Why can't we nibble a bit at Sandfire's god-awful plan?''
''Because you're bound to make Sandfire furious. And even if he can't point a finger at you for this or that mess, he'll figure you for it and tighten the noose on you.''
Kris nodded; Jack had an answer for everything she said. Without thinking, her hands came up to rest on her hips. ''Then it comes down to this. We do this my way.'' There were glaciers on Wardhaven warmer than Kris felt at the moment. Ice cold. Determined. No alternative. No compromise.
''I can hog-tie you in five seconds,'' Jack whispered.
''Abby, don't even think of going for me,'' Kris said, taking a step away from her maid, even if it put her closer to Jack. ''Anyone makes a grab for me, I start screaming. The guards will be in here before you can get a gag in me.''
''That would really foul things up,'' Tom pointed out, maddeningly reasonable.
''No doubt about that,'' Kris agreed. ''We do it my way, or I'll make sure we don't do it your way, Jack.''
''You are a brat.''
''Certified, Princess level,'' Kris agreed.
Jack locked eyes with Kris. She didn't blink. He finally shrugged. ''Once we get home, I could ask for a reassignment.''
So it had come to that, each of them playing their last card. Kris could scream and get them all locked away in the deepest dungeon Turantic had, able neither to escape nor wreck Sandfire's plans. And Jack could turn his back on Kris. Did he know how much she depended on him? How much she enjoyed him being around? Kris swallowed hard.
''That's something you'll have to decide when we're back.''
''If we get back,'' Jack shot at her. ''Abby, you better do something with her hair, or I'll get written up for causing serious damage to my primary.'' He scowled and turned away.
''Back to the sink, young woman. You may have the power to put my delicate flesh in a world of hurt, but I still am in charge of making you presentable.''
Kris went where she was ordered… for a change. Tom's and Penny's eyes followed her. Was there desperation there, or just the usual expectation that she'd somehow get them all out of the mess she'd gotten them into?
Chapter 21
Abby was putting the finishing touches on Kris's hair when the suite's doorbell rang. ''I'll get it,'' Jack said, his voice the same cast-iron flat it had been since Kris balked his plan to get her off planet.
''Do I look all right?'' Kris asked Abby in the mirror. The maid nodded, and Kris took a final look at herself. Abby had her hair up in swirls held in place by a diamond affair rented from the hotel jeweler. The aquamarine dress's thin waist ballooned in both directions. Petticoats assured the skirt would sway with every move she made. The bodice rose to just brush what it promised she had. With the bombs, Kris almost did. And once she got rid of them, no one would be the wiser.
Well, maybe Hank, depending on how close they danced.
Giving herself one last glance that proved her nose was no smaller—there were limits to even Abby's magic—Kris advanced to see how things were developing.
The living room held no surprises. Three different security details were sniffing about, going through their dominance routines. Hank's was arrayed to the left of the door, the gray goons to the right, and Jack, with Tom in full Navy dinner dress at his elbow, held them all at bay while they each announced their intentions for the night. ''We can handle everything,'' the head of Hank's detail said as if that settled it all. ''Nobody told us about nobody going nowhere,'' the grays bleated, thereby losing all claim to control. ''Kris goes nowhere without her detail,'' Jack said, which seemed to brighten up the grays' day until they realized Jack did not include them in that. Abby bustled out of Kris's room dressed in a severe dark gray suit and took station at Jack's other elbow.
''Are we ready?'' she asked no one.
Hank gave Kris a knowing wink. ''You look beautiful tonight,'' he said as if they were normal people, alone.
Kris did a little wiggle that set her entire ensemble to rustling and returned the favor. ''You don't look half bad yourself.'' Which was definitely an understatement. His light tan tux was well set off by a red cummerbund. The deliciously ruffled shirt was dressed down for tonight with no tie and the last buttonhole empty.
Hank offered Kris an arm, proving chivalry was no longer dead, and led her through the still bickering security details as if they were not there. It took only a second of reflection for Kris to decide that might well be the way to handle tonight. Possibly every night. See how Jack liked that.
Hank's security had the slide car reserved. Hank missed the signal from the head of his detail that would have had Kris wait for the next car. Kris ignored the unseemly scrambling as she settled herself into the rear couch, Hank at her side.
''It's been quite a day,'' Hank said. ''Have you been busy?''
''You may have noticed, Wardhaven isn't Turantic's favorite planet at the moment.'' Hank nodded attentively. ''I've kind of been under house arrest today. After my schedule of late, it's rather relaxing.'' He shared in her laugh.
''Maybe I should try that approach. But Turantic has few ties with Greenfeld, so they don't quite know what to do with me.''
''I thought your Mr. Sandfire was…'' Kris left the words hanging.
''He's not my Mr. Sandfire. I'm not sure Cal is anybody's man.'' Hank sighed, and Kris could almost see him making a mental note to pass that observation along to his father. ''He seems to have his irons in a lot of fires here, but a lot of people have been surprised to see me at his elbow these last few days. I think I'm part of some kind of coming out party. Not sure I really understand how I'm being used.''