“This was what you wanted to question him about?”
“Yes.”
“And rather than talk to you, or tell you some lie, he ran away.”
“Yes. Interesting reaction, no?”
“Very interesting,” Foile said. He found he was sitting on the edge of his seat. He forced himself to settle back. Any effort to relax proved a waste.
“You see why I was willing to risk everything to get a few words in.”
“I do, and may I say that I’m glad that I didn’t keep you from getting as far as you got.” Foile allowed himself a chuckle. “I don’t often fail. I’m glad I picked this time to have one of my rare breaches.”
The princess shrugged and flipped a hand at her surroundings. “I did fail. Now all I can hope for is to get my day in court and present my case to the public at large. Clearly, I will not be talking about vague rumors and innuendoes for which I can produce no basis in fact.”
Senior Chief Agent in Charge Foile nodded. “On the other hand, it is frequently my job to produce just the sort of facts you lack.”
“Be careful,” the princess said.
The young man ceased his pacing. “While her grampa Al might not be willing to use violence against Kris here, his subordinates, or their helpers, have been known to get very enthusiastic in their effort to get into his good graces. Remember ‘will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?’ The same could be said of a princess or a cop.”
Foile nodded. “Minor minions are want to go off half-cocked. However, they are often the ones that crack under pressure and give us our first handle on a rope that leads up the chain of evidence.”
Foile paused for a moment, a line of investigation cascading out before his mind’s eye. “I think I know a couple of trees to shake. I think this could be very challenging. Challenging and fun.”
“You have a weird sense of fun, then,” the young man said.
Foile stood. “One word, Princess. If memory serves, Musashi still has capital punishment.”
“Your memory is correct. Nelly advised me of it before we landed on the Mutsu, but thank you for the thought. If I may add, if you insist on taking on this quest for a damsel . . . and all humanity . . . in distress, you might want to talk with my brother Honovi. He’s a member of parliament and not as blind to some things as my father. You might also want to talk to my grampa Trouble.”
“If you mean General Tordon, I talked with him. A most reticent witness.”
“He’ll loosen up when you get to know him. Tell him I sent you and that I dropped the Grampa Al monkey on your back.”
“Thank you, not for the Grampa Al monkey, but for the secret handshake for General Trouble.”
“Just remember,” the princess said. “He’s trouble for everyone, even me. Oh, another thing. I left my luggage in the Downside elevator station. Is there any chance you could send it on to the Mutsu?”
“The police impounded it, but with no case filed, I can likely get it loose.”
“Thank you.”
“There is just one more matter, Princess. One of my agents, Leslie Chu is a great fan of yours. Is there any chance I might have your autograph?”
“Is there any paper here?”
“I can print out one of your pictures,” Nelly said, and the admiral’s desk began spitting out a print. The princess signed it with a flourish, then, with an impish grin added, “Sorry I missed you.”
Foile gave her a bow from the waist as he took his leave. Clearly, this young woman was noble and deserving of his respect. The lieutenant was waiting for him outside the door. As Foile made his way off the ship, he began rearranging his schedule. Like so many of his kind, he had a large bank of unused leave.
I wonder how the boss will react when I ask for a month off?
He also wondered how much help he could get out of Leslie as the price for her princess’s autographed photo.
42
Matters moved slowly after that. Though the Mutsu was scheduled to sortie the next day, there was suddenly a stack of reasons the ship could not sail. Kris got to know Lieutenant Sato, the ship’s JAG officer very well as he sought first information, then advice on how to handle this blizzard of delays. Nelly was very helpful.
Captain Miyoshi arrived with a quartermaster chief. Thanks to the uniformity imposed by the now-defunct Society of Humanity, many uniforms for Navy and Marine officers for Musashi and the Royal U.S. Navy were pretty much the same. The chief had several uniforms for Kris in different sizes: too small and way too small.
That caused some embarrassment, but the Mutsu had its own tailor, and the chief very professionally fitted the uniforms to Kris’s nonstandard frame. Jack was saved from the same pins by the arrival of his travel bag with a note from Colonel Hancock. “You’ve got a month’s worth of leave coming. Use it well.”
“While we have the uniforms, Commander,” Captain Miyoshi said, “we do not have the proper accouterments. We found your list of awards and decorations. The exchange on High Wardhaven provided most of them and shoulder boards. However, the Order of the Wounded Lion was not in stock.”
“I don’t imagine it would be,” Kris said. “I can skip it. It always raises more questions than I can answer.”
The captain shut his mouth on what likely would have been one of them. After a pause, he went on. “Trunks have arrived for you and Lieutenant Pasley. Shall I have them brought here? I’m told their contents are rather hard to inventory.”
Kris found herself and Jack struggling to contain a laugh at the captain’s honest evaluation of the inside of one of Abby’s mysterious trunks. Which raised the matter of Abby and Cara. And other things.
“Captain, I am grateful for the hospitality you and your ship have shown me. I do have a problem.”
“Just one?” the captain asked.
“Several, actually,” Kris admitted. “I am locked out of my accounts. For the first time in a long time, the world is confronted with a penniless Longknife.”
“I can cover her expenses,” Jack quickly put in.
“Thank you, Jack, but my bill for uniforms, mess tab, all this, is too much to ask,” Kris said, glancing around the room.
“When I took you in,” Captain Miyoshi said, “I expected that you were bringing a whole lot of trouble with you. Please don’t think any of this is a surprise. The chief here has opened an account in your name. When all is done, my Navy will send your Navy a bill, and we can let people who love to haggle over such matters talk about it from now until the sun burns out for all I care.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Kris said. “There is one more matter. I need to send a message to my maid on Madigan’s Rainbow.”
“Your maid?” the captain asked.
“Abby is her maid, and a few things more,” Jack put in.
“Oh, Abby Nightengale. She features prominently in your file.”
So the Musashi Navy had a file on Kris. Why was she surprised? Well, she probably had surprised the poor captain, but he was clearly doing a good job of playing catch-up.
“I left Abby rather suddenly, and I suspect she’s very worried about me. I’d like to let her know I’m safe.” Kris considered where she was headed and corrected herself. “I’ve landed on my feet.”
“A much better choice of words,” the captain agreed.
“Could Nelly send a message, standby priority to Madigan’s Rainbow?” There were several jump buoys between Wardhaven and there. Each of them would add to the cost of the message. Even using the lowest, standby priority, this message would cost. It would also arrive in a couple of weeks. There was not a lot of traffic out on the sector where Madigan’s Rainbow hid. That was why it had been chosen.
“Have your computer compose your message,” the captain said. “I’m sure the Mutsu will see it on its way.”