breath. His fur stood on
end, and the color faded from his nose and paws.
“Yes,”
began Chloë. “Ivy Stratford, First Mother of the house, has offered me
sanctuary and I intend to use it. Do you wish to argue the point with her
husband?” Chloë took some pleasure in watching Raymond squirm, but was a
little surprised that Llewellyn’s reputation had preceded them so well.
“Is
he here?” whispered Raymond.
“Maybe…
maybe not,” replied Heather. “The question is, what are you going to
do? Do you wish to accompany us?”
Raymond’s
professionalism caught back up with him. “As an agent of your father, my
first and primary duty is to insure Lady Chloë’s safety. If I cannot
dissuade you from your present course, then I am compelled to stand by you to
the best of my abilities.”
“There
we have it then,” beamed Heather. “Shall we continue? The clock is
rolling.”
Raymond
nodded to Chloë, and the three of them made their way to the monorail station
lobby. Heather walked up to one of the lockers and with a quick type on
the combination lock, opened it and removed a case.
“Whee!
Kind of heavy!” laughed Heather.
“Do
you wish me to carry it for you, Lady Heather?”
“And
what was wrong with just plain ‘Heather’?” she asked as she blew a raspberry.
“The
last thing I want to do is insult your father…”
Heather
laughed. “Okay, if you want to carry it, that would be nice. Just
don’t lose it, drop it, or ever let it out of your sight.”
Raymond
nodded and took the case from Heather. “So I assume I am now carrying the
ransom money? That should make me the first target of an assassin’s
bullet.”
“Ew!
Do you want me to take it back?” asked Heather.
“No,
Heather, this is part of my job.”
Heather
grinned at Chloë. “Okay, he’s not as cute as Tobias, but he isn’t bad…”
Raymond’s
fur briefly stood on end. “Then back to the monorail, my ladies. We
have a rendezvous to keep.”
19
Raymond
sat attentively across from Heather and Chloë in the monorail car. It was
very late, and most of the commuters at this point were people who had been
enjoying the evening a little too much. The closer to their stop they
got, the rougher the individuals that inhabited the train. Chloë,
however, felt quite safe with Heather at her side and Raymond across from her;
the locals weren’t likely to cause trouble. Well, at least not for very
long.
Heather
was curled up next to the window asleep. Chloë knew she should try and
get some rest as well; they had been moving since four in the morning, and she
was desperately tired. But nervous anticipation was edging out the very
thought of fear. Chloë took some amusement as Raymond cautiously reached
out and lightly touched Heather’s arm. Heather, for her part, grumbled
lightly and rolled over in her chair.
“Checking
to see if she is real?” asked Chloë with a bit of a giggle.
“Is
she really the daughter of Llewellyn Silverglade?” asked Raymond.
Chloë
nodded. “Lean elegant man, coat much like mine, with a light and even
voice. Very polite and friendly, but not in a formal way. Does that
sound like him?”
Raymond
nodded. “From the videos I’ve seen and from the documents I have read, yes.”
“What
makes him so special?”
Raymond
offered a feeble laugh. “He and his brother, along with those monstrous
Shukurae, all but ended the civil war, but not like you would have imagined.”
“Go
on…”
Raymond
nodded. “The civil war had reached a desperate level, so desperate that
all sides finally realized that if some accommodation could not be reached,
genocide, by accident or design, was the likely next step. So a cease
fire was called and troops from outside were brought in to stand between the
great warring houses. While leaders and diplomats talked and bickered,
various troops on both sides grew impatient and
end, and the color faded from his nose and paws.
“Yes,”
began Chloë. “Ivy Stratford, First Mother of the house, has offered me
sanctuary and I intend to use it. Do you wish to argue the point with her
husband?” Chloë took some pleasure in watching Raymond squirm, but was a
little surprised that Llewellyn’s reputation had preceded them so well.
“Is
he here?” whispered Raymond.
“Maybe…
maybe not,” replied Heather. “The question is, what are you going to
do? Do you wish to accompany us?”
Raymond’s
professionalism caught back up with him. “As an agent of your father, my
first and primary duty is to insure Lady Chloë’s safety. If I cannot
dissuade you from your present course, then I am compelled to stand by you to
the best of my abilities.”
“There
we have it then,” beamed Heather. “Shall we continue? The clock is
rolling.”
Raymond
nodded to Chloë, and the three of them made their way to the monorail station
lobby. Heather walked up to one of the lockers and with a quick type on
the combination lock, opened it and removed a case.
“Whee!
Kind of heavy!” laughed Heather.
“Do
you wish me to carry it for you, Lady Heather?”
“And
what was wrong with just plain ‘Heather’?” she asked as she blew a raspberry.
“The
last thing I want to do is insult your father…”
Heather
laughed. “Okay, if you want to carry it, that would be nice. Just
don’t lose it, drop it, or ever let it out of your sight.”
Raymond
nodded and took the case from Heather. “So I assume I am now carrying the
ransom money? That should make me the first target of an assassin’s
bullet.”
“Ew!
Do you want me to take it back?” asked Heather.
“No,
Heather, this is part of my job.”
Heather
grinned at Chloë. “Okay, he’s not as cute as Tobias, but he isn’t bad…”
Raymond’s
fur briefly stood on end. “Then back to the monorail, my ladies. We
have a rendezvous to keep.”
19
Raymond
sat attentively across from Heather and Chloë in the monorail car. It was
very late, and most of the commuters at this point were people who had been
enjoying the evening a little too much. The closer to their stop they
got, the rougher the individuals that inhabited the train. Chloë,
however, felt quite safe with Heather at her side and Raymond across from her;
the locals weren’t likely to cause trouble. Well, at least not for very
long.
Heather
was curled up next to the window asleep. Chloë knew she should try and
get some rest as well; they had been moving since four in the morning, and she
was desperately tired. But nervous anticipation was edging out the very
thought of fear. Chloë took some amusement as Raymond cautiously reached
out and lightly touched Heather’s arm. Heather, for her part, grumbled
lightly and rolled over in her chair.
“Checking
to see if she is real?” asked Chloë with a bit of a giggle.
“Is
she really the daughter of Llewellyn Silverglade?” asked Raymond.
Chloë
nodded. “Lean elegant man, coat much like mine, with a light and even
voice. Very polite and friendly, but not in a formal way. Does that
sound like him?”
Raymond
nodded. “From the videos I’ve seen and from the documents I have read, yes.”
“What
makes him so special?”
Raymond
offered a feeble laugh. “He and his brother, along with those monstrous
Shukurae, all but ended the civil war, but not like you would have imagined.”
“Go
on…”
Raymond
nodded. “The civil war had reached a desperate level, so desperate that
all sides finally realized that if some accommodation could not be reached,
genocide, by accident or design, was the likely next step. So a cease
fire was called and troops from outside were brought in to stand between the
great warring houses. While leaders and diplomats talked and bickered,
various troops on both sides grew impatient and
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