Beyond the Shroud of the Universe by Chris Kennedy Page B

The other thing he always talked about, besides the things Wayland did, was the fact that Wayland was able to outsmart the Psiclopes. What if that isn’t true, either? What if the Psiclopes caught him and turned him to their own purposes?”
    “What could that be? Steropes was with us the whole last mission to help the Aesir. What was he getting out of it?”
    “Nothing. But what if it wasn’t him, sir? What if the one who caught him was Arges, and he never said anything to anyone else? Or at least not to Steropes? He could run Nightsong however he wanted. He could probably get him to do almost anything in order to avoid being exposed.”
    “Son of a bitch,” Night said. “It would explain a lot if they were working together. Arges runs all the news and information services…what if he used them as information collecting devices?”
    “That might go a long way to explaining our information leak. He would have access to all our ships’ movements, too, and would know where they were at all times.”
    “But why? Why would he work with the Iranians and the Efreet? What could he hope to gain from that?”
    “I don’t know,” Master Chief replied, “but I do know how to find out.”
    “Call him up?”
    “No sir, I don’t want to risk alerting him to the fact that we know about him. I think we ought to go to his house and surprise him. Besides, that way, I can be the one to wring his scrawny neck.”
    “I think that’s a damn good idea, Master Chief,” Night replied. He switched to his comm and called the pilot. “ Hey, Canuck, once we get back to our universe, we’re going to need to make a little stopover on our way back home… ”
     
     

Chapter Sixteen
     
     

Gates, Chateau de Arges, Beckenried, Switzerland, October 7, 2021
    “You know, sir, I’m starting to think this was a bad idea,” Master Chief said as the platoon marched up the hill. “Really. Who needs to build themselves a castle at the top of a mountain?”
    “Two types of people,” Night replied. “Those who like the view, and those who want a defensible position. The fact there isn’t enough room for a shuttle landing zone anywhere close by gives me an idea on which one Arges is.”
    “And that confirms it,” Master Chief agreed as they came around the final bend in the road. A large number of men could be seen patrolling the castle’s walls and the grounds around it.
    “Yeah,” Night said. “It’s got a great view of Lake Lucerne, but it looks like we’ve found the source of at least some of our problems. Not even the president has that much security.”
    Master Chief spat as they approached the gated entrance into the castle. “Those are mercenaries on the walls,” he said under his breath. “I recognize a couple of them. They tried to get into the SEALs but weren’t disciplined enough. They just like killing. Sir, we might want to rethink this…”
    “Platoon, halt,” Night said. “Master Chief and Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick, you’re with me.”
    The three Terran Space Marines advanced toward the gate, and three heavily-armed men came out to meet them. “That’ll be close enough,” the one in the lead said, “especially if you’re coming armed. Is this an official visit?”
    “Yeah, we’d like to talk to your boss,” Night replied. “We’ve got a few questions we’d like to ask him.”
    “Well, I’m sorry,” the leader said, not sounding sorry at all, “but you aren’t on the list of visitors for the day, so I’ll have to ask you to come back another time when you have an appointment.”
    Master Chief noticed all the security forces in view had stopped patrolling and were following the ongoing confrontation. Although their fingers weren’t on their triggers, yet, their rifles were now pointing in the general direction of the platoon.
    “Hey, Scabby,” Master Chief said to the leader, “we don’t have to make this into a big deal. I know it would certainly make me feel a lot better if