BattleTech : Mechwarrior - Dark Age 01 - Ghost War (2002)

  Throughout it all, Bianca was gracious and positive. She credited the hard work of the volunteers and some very generous donations she'd gotten that weekend as the reasons things were going so smoothly. Newsies had a hard time keeping up with her, and she really did appear to be in her element, which brought a smile to my face.

  LIT was working better than I expected, primarily because we picked the right targets and had the benefit of timing. Resentment over Bernard's actions and the Count's policies toward the poor had already started things simmering. This just brought it out into the open. The next strike would have to be against an economic target, like JPG. At least, that was the plan.

  The problem was that LIT had not counted on having someone like Bernard in the mix on the other side, with a whole cadre of warriors ready to go. It struck me that he was likely to act out in some way. That could heat things up and he was unpredictable enough that I didn't want to leave him alone.

  If he was an agent of chaos, I wanted to focus him.

  There was only one way I could do that.

  I headed for the Egg.

  29

  No man can serve two masters.

  - Matthew 6:24

  Manville, Capital District

  Basalt

  Prefecture IV, Republic of the Sphere

  12 February 3133

  One aspect of my training as a Ghost Knight had to do with observation. That makes sense, of course, since most of the time I was gathering information. That's best done with your mouth shut, just watching folks and listening to the differences between what they tell you, and what they actually do.

  When you find a disconnect between the two, you know where to start pushing.

  More important than all that, though, is self-observation. There are great little tricks to it. For example, you take a normal breath and hold it until your lungs begin to burn for oxygen. The object isn't to see how long you can hold your breath, but just to know how much time passes until you feel that fire. Twenty seconds, thirty, it doesn't matter except as a measure of time.

  When I walked into the Egg I stopped where I had before and just stopped breathing. I wanted to see how long it would take before I was noticed and Alba was sent for. I didn't want to appear concerned or anxious, so I wasn't going to look at my watch. I just held my breath and waited for the burn.

  Of course, an added benefit of this method of timing was that I didn't have to breathe in there. I thought at first that the whole sewer backup thing might have been the source of the problem, then I recalled that it was only the west side that was affected. A shortage of washing-up water could have explained some of it, too, but we were nowhere near the Heights.

  I can't say the tension was palpable, but the nervous stink was. The pilots there were irritated.

  Worse yet, they were bored. A chance comment could have started a brawl that would have wrecked the place. It wouldn't improve the decor, and I doubted it would do much for the stench.

  After a minute and a half Alba arrived from a back room and smiled at me. "I was wondering when you'd be back."

  "I was asking about, as you suggested. I've seen the opposition."

  She nodded. "Follow me."

  I did and she led me through a side door and up some stairs. Down a hallway and to the left we entered a small office that had been supplied with Clan War surplus and likely hadn't been painted since before the Blakist uprising. In fact, the newest item in the place sat on her desk.

  It was a small holoprojector and hovering eighteen centimeters high was an image of yours truly, slowly rotating. She followed my gaze, then looked up and smiled. "It was given to me by someone who wants you very dead."

  "What's the price?" "Fifty K."

  "I'll beat it."

  Alba shook her head, then sat, and waved me to the chair opposite her desk. "Don't bother. I'm a warrior, not a hit man."

  I sat. "Has to be Bernie. Teyte would do the job himself."

  She smiled carefully. "You're insightful. I can't tell if you know or you're bluffing, but I'll confirm neither."

  "But we'll find out soon enough since someone downstairs let the contract issuer know I was here. Actually, you made the call, otherwise I'd just be a body waiting for delivery." I stretched. "I wonder how we could pass the time until they get here."

  "Profitably, but not the way I might prefer. We have twenty minutes."

  "Not enough time, I agree, so why don't I tell you why I came here."

  "Please."

  "Since this comes from a security Tri-Vid from the Palace, you know I've met Emblyn. He's taken credit for something I did and, therefore, he is a jerk and has earned my ire. He must pay, and I know exactly how that can be accomplished."

  I proceeded to tell Alba all about LIT. I stressed the focus on targets that are a serious capital loss to the owner. Unlike the Cat, the former Lament grasped the philosophy immediately and saw the possibilities behind it. She nodded sagely as I showed how a government couldn't fight it.

  Her eyes narrowed. "The one vulnerability here is an ancient one. Hannibal used it against the Romans. He fought on their territory. The only way to make someone like Emblyn stop is to make victory too costly for him. The government has obvious targets to hit, but he does as well-and he has no established constituency. If he were to be hit he might get some initial sympathy, but people will be reminded how rich he is, and that is seldom an endearing trait unless his money is being spent onyou. " Her gaze flicked to the doorway, giving me a moment's warning. Even as Bernard surged through the door with hands outstretched and fingers clawed, I was up and out of my metal-frame chair. With a snap of my wrist I spun it into his path. He barked his shins on it, stumbled and went down hard.

  I whirled and my right leg snapped out in a kick that caught Teyte on the left side of his head.

  The laces cut his cheek and tore at his earlobe. The kick snapped his head around. He smacked hard into the door jamb, then staggered back. He tripped over Bernard's legs and crashed down. He struck his head on the floor and sprawled there, unconscious and bleeding.

  I grabbed Bernie by the collar and dragged him into a chair. "Sit. Stay, or you and your cousin will be comparing kicks to the head." I righted my chair and pulled it back where I could watch all three of them.

  Bernard snarled at Alba. "You bitch, you ambushed us."

  Her nostrils flared dismissively. "It was self-defense. You picked a fight with someone who has already kicked your tail, and you just got it kicked again. It's a good thing he did it, too, because if he hadn't, I would have been forced to."

  "Do you know who you're talking to?" "Very well, thank you. And you're talking to the person you've hired to make certain you will inherit your father's throne. Mr. Donelly has just given us the means to fight against your enemy and, curiously enough, to deal with others who might come along. He's told me everything the other side is doing and we have a way to fight it. Judiciously managed, the whole crisis might also prompt your father to step down in your favor, far sooner than you ever expected."

  Bernie looked from her to me and back again. "Him? But he's working for Emblyn."

  "Which would somehow make me immune to the fact that he's a conceited jerk?" I snorted at him. "Of course, I think the same of you, but you were born to it. He's no better than me, but has airs and that just doesn't go down well. Besides, what I skinned from you is more than he'll ever pay me, and he's probably scheming to get it back from me now."

  "That's true. There isn't a credit that's passed through his hands that doesn't have his thumbprint etched on Stone's cheek." Bernard rubbed at his shins. "How is it that we get to Emblyn?" I held my hands up. "First thing you do is tell me how much you're paying me."

  "I've already given you a lot of money."

  "And I earned every pebble of it. We're talkingmore. I'll earn it, too."

  "You'll get paid." Bernard's sneer returned. "Once I'm running Basalt, you'll get yours."

  I glanced at Alba. "You working on pr
omises?" "No, but I do think the guarantees that have been banked with ComStar have put Lord Germayne here in something of a liquidity crisis." She gave me a nod. "I promise you a quarter of what I've already got against anything he offers you."

  "Done."

  Bernard stopped rubbing his shins and rubbed his hands together instead. "Tell me, how do we get him?" "Okay, look, Alba already knows the plans Emblyn's people are working. You can leave the details of all that to her. You don't need to know, and you don'twant to know. Also, I'm not going to ask you what resources you have or anything like that. I'm just going to suggest things and if you have the stuff you need to make it work, just make it work. If I don't know logistics and timetables, you can't blame me if something screws up. Alba, I have scouted some dead-drops and we'll set up a servicing plan for them. If I hear anything that will interfere with plans I've suggested to you, I'll let you know."

  "Good, I was going to suggest that."

  Lord Germayne frowned. "Yap, yap, yap, just like some little Kurita mutt. How do I get Emblyn?" "Here's the whole package. It comes in two parts. First, Emblyn's people have not claimed credit for either the sewers or the fire. They've hesitated because governmental critics are playing up the conspiracy angle and that makes the government look bad. Once some group pops up to claim credit for things, the government's assertions are proved true and the citizens will realize their government is under attack. So, step one, you have people create some sort of anarchist group that issues some manifestos and claims credit for the attacks. You promise more attacks to come in the future."

  Bernard's impatience deepened the frown. "I've still not heard what I want to hear."

  Alba made a gentle gesture to calm me, and I nodded. "Second step: you have to hit him hard, in a place that will embarrass him. You can't kill innocents, since that pattern has already been established. You want to nail a big target that will cost him a lot of time, money, heartache and prestige."

  The man's eyes lit up. "I know the place. Perfect."

  "Great, whatever. I'll assume you have the resources to do the job. It's going to be important for you to make sure your little liberation front or whatever you call it takes credit for your action, and comes up with a consistent reason why they hit Emblyn. It will take the shine off him from recent activitiesand will drive him nuts, since he knows your people didn't do the first attacks, but he can't stand up and say anything about it because his only proof is thathe was behind the original attacks."

  The idea of Emblyn being hoist on his own petard clearly thrilled Bernard. "Yes, this will work. Dolehide . . ."

  "I'll make it work."

  "Give me the details. I want to be driving one of the 'Mechs."

  I shook my head adamantly. "No you don't."

  "Oh, I do."

  I sighed. "If you do that, you completely destroy every possible advantage you could gain here.

  You have to be held above and apart. Think, you hit a target hard, what will Emblyn do?" "Hit back."

  "Right, just as hard, or harder. And who is going to be the person stepping in to resolve the matter by force of arms? You will, with your handpicked cadre of warriors whom you have brought here at your own expense to guarantee the peace and tranquility of your nation. If you go on this raid and something happens to reveal your presence, you lose everything. You need to be somewhere else, rather conspicuous."

  "I need an alibi." He got a feral grin on his face. "Obvious and visible."

  "Exactly." I stood. "I'm leaving you two to this. There's a back way out, right, the same way they came in so Neime-yer's people across the street don't have a holo of him?" Alba nodded, then got up and came around the desk. She stepped over Teyte. "I'll be right back, my lord."

  "Fine, I'll be here thinking."

  We left him to that arduous task. She guided me down two flights and out through a hole that had been knocked through the basement wall into the storage for a restaurant next door. "Up the stairs, out through the kitchen, and you're clear."

  "Good, thanks." I shook her hand. "I hope you can make this work with little interference from him."

  "I will." Her hand tightened on mine instead of releasing it. "When Teyte wakes up he's going to want you very dead. He'll hold off because Bernard will see you as useful. Teyte will work against that and when he succeeds-however he succeeds-youwill be killed."

  "Not the first time I've heard that."

  Alba gave me a curious smile. "But they run the planet, and they will rat you out to Emblyn.

  His reach is longer than theirs, and he'll be even more vindictive."

  "It's a chance I'll take. It's not easy playing both ends against the middle, but it can be profitable." I nodded a salute. "And, as you know, anyone who fights for anything other than money is a fool."

  30

  Oderint, dum metuant.

  Let them hate, so long as they fear.

  - Accius

  Emblyn Palace Resort, Garnet Coast

  Basalt

  Prefecture IV, Republic of the Sphere

  15 February 3133

  It should come as no surprise that Bernard chose the Palace resort as the target for his strike.

  I'm fairly certain Alba pointed out that it was also patently obvious, but there were few other places that would create such a splash with so clear a chance of minimizing casualties. Because the resort was not yet open, very few people would be on site at night. With a bit of warning, the building would be empty before a 'Mech assault could bring it down.

  What impressed me was how quickly and easily the Germaynes created the Basalt Socialist Union and started it claiming responsibility for some attacks. They claimed the sewers and the fire, and tossed in a couple of other things that the government had taken heat for in the past. I found that very clever in that it cleared the government's plateand gave the BSU a longer history, which made it that much more menacing.

  Gypsy was immediately thrown into an uproar, since part of our plan had been to claim credit and shape public opinion. I carefully pointed out that we'd still be able to do that, and rather easily.

  "Look, we both know the Germaynes have issued these statements to bolster their claims and to take the heat off the government. We know we can destroy their claims because we can provide the Constabulary with technical details about the explosives used and a dozen other things that only we would know. We can take back creditand expose this as a government effort, if we so choose.

  Moreover, the government is clearly trying to lay claim to these events so they can use the BSU as a cover to take a poke at Emblyn and get away with it."

  Gypsy and I then went through a version of my talk with Bernard and Alba. I let him figure out Bernard's most logical target and we agreed that it had to be the Palace Resort. Because there was a constant stream of transports and the occasional DropShip making short hops into and out of the resort's landing area-bringing in construction material and other bulk items-delivering a light company to the site was relatively easy. We figured that a pair of BattleMechs and ten vehicles commanded by Catford would do the job. Emblyn Holdings Limited had a license for a lance of 'Mechs for weapons evaluation purposes, since one of his small companies did produce munitions. They'd been painted up in gray, with an Emblyn Eagle in black splayed over the chest or flanks. A platoon of infantry came in disguised as workers.

  I got frozen out of the whole military operation, and that was okay with me because I had a very fine line I had to walk. I worked mostly on setting up the JPG strikes and helping Elle create the "real" guerrilla movement on Basalt. We chose "Freedom from Want" as our title, and used FfW as a logo. With that name we could justify anything, decry anything as evil, and we'd be set.

  We knew that exposing the BSU would be tricky and would have to take place in two steps.

  Catford, as Emblyn Security, would stop the BSU attack on the resort. An investigation would be launched, likely by Colonel Niemeyer or his northern compatriots. Right after that we'd hit JPG, claim re
sponsibility, and release to the investigators details that proved we were responsible for everything else. We would then be able to disavow the earlier attacks that the BSU had claimed, pointing anyone with two brain cells to rub together that the BSU was a smokescreen to take pressure off the corrupt Germayne regime.

  Elle impressed me with how hard she worked. Not only had she collected a bunch of rumors and scandalous stories about the current government, but she'd done the same for Emblyn. The latter we analyzed so we could prepare counters to them, whereas the former pointed out the vices we could expose to embarrass the Germaynes. She was not only thorough in her research, but rather insightful about how to employ what she had discovered.

  I left the disinformation campaign to her and prepped to travel north to the resort to witness the battle. How did I know when the raid was going to take place? Well, Bernard had gotten it into his head that he needed an alibi and he was very inspired. He agreed to go on a live, late-night Tri-Vid show hosted by a comedian who had scored a lot of points off Bernard gags even in the short time I'd been on Basalt. Reading between the lines of reports about this appearance, I gathered the host had been a long-time thorn in Bernard's side, so everyone was salivating to watch the encounter.

  Before I went north I employed a dead-drop to leave a message for Alba to warn her that something was going on in my camp and that I was afraid they had caught wind of the raid, so she should abort it. I wrote the message out, folded it neatly, put it in an empty beer can-Diamond Negro, just for the record-and dropped it beneath a small bridge in one of the downtown parks. I then proceeded to a corner and drew an X on a lamppost with some chalk, to let her agents know there was a message at the dead-drop.

  And, of course, I did this late enough in the day that the message would never be found in time.