Continued from Part 3. Start with Part 1.
Sari sized up the situation. The two enforcers weren’t controlling access to the diner, just keeping watch. A couple left the diner, their talk hushed by the sight of the black armor. After a glance, the enforcers ignored them, and the couple hurried away down the street.
Inside that door were her brother and, most likely, her husband. The unfathomable menace was almost upon her, and she would finally shine a light on it. Steeling herself, she straightened up, dropping her arms to her sides, despite the cold. With all the confidence she did not feel, she strode up to the door, smiled at the enforcers, who smiled back, and went in.
The diner was blessedly warm inside, clean, and well-kept. A popular place with the lunch crowd, too. Neat booths of green vinyl lined the outer walls and an inner half-wall. Beyond the half-wall was a bar-top counter and stools. Few were empty, and the place hummed with conversation and the clacking of utensils on plastic plates. Sari finally caught sight of Julin and yes, Kolteo, sitting across from each other at a booth by the window. Neither noticed her.
She made for the kitchen and back rooms beyond the counter. She spotted an apron, and went to put it on. The name tag read, “Tinslereli.” A loose plan began to form in her mind. Just then, a waitress saw her and exclaimed in relief, “Oh good, they found someone. Listen, can you cover the front for me for five minutes?”
“Yes,” said Sari. “Can you show me where the coffee is?”
The waitress showed her, then bustled off. Sari took the pot and went back to the front. She began to fill coffees, smiling at patrons, making her way slowly toward the booth where Julin and Kolteo sat.
They were arguing quietly. She could see that Julin was putting on an air of easy calm, but he was too tense. There was fear in the corners of his eyes. Kolteo was clearly angry; she could see that vein popping on his forehead from here.
She worked her way, table by table, toward them. She noticed that Kolteo’s coat was hung on a hook at the end of the booth. Julin wore his.
Finally, Sari reached their table. “Coffee?” Secure in her disguise as she was, and each of them intent on the other as they were, they barely acknowledged her. She filled Julin’s coffee cup, then went to fill Kolteo’s. Half-way full, her arm wavered, and hot coffee spilled onto the table and into Kolteo’s lap.
“Ah, stupid!” cried her husband. He scrambled for napkins to stem the flood.
“How clumsy of me!” said Sari, setting the pot down. She quickly dug her free hand into Kolteo’s jacket where it hung. Sure enough, there was the stunner that he always kept in the inner pocket!
Julin stared at her incredulously. Kolteo fussed with the napkins, dabbing at his pants, until after a moment he looked up into the muzzle of his own stunner. “Who...?” he began, and then he recognized her. “Sari!” He took in her disguise, and laughed despite himself. “Why are you made up like that?”
Sari held the stunner steadily, a cold rage settling upon her. “I have been spied upon, questioned, and followed, nearly since you left the apartment. Last night, you called Julin the most dangerous man in the Empire. You called my brother that, Kolteo. I want an explanation, and I want it now.”
Julin sat back lazily, his lopsided grin shining with malice. “Yes, Kolteo. Do tell her.”
Kolteo’s face turned ashen as he looked up into her eyes. “I was trying to protect you, Sari. If what’s on that recorder gets out, we’ll be ruined.”
“Tell her why you’ll be ruined,” said Julin in his quietest, most dangerous voice.
“Because,” began Kolteo. Something caught in his throat. He looked away, swallowed, then looked again into her eyes. “Because I arranged for the fleet to be lost. Your father suspected, I think, but if he did, he went along with it.”
“That’s not in the record, for what it’s worth,” interjected Julin.
Sari’s hand began to tremble, and she took a deep breath, steadying herself.
Kolteo pressed on. “You remember those days, Sari. The emperor was mad with power. We all feared for our lives, and that flagship he had built would have been the terror of the galaxy, with enough power to reduce an entire world to slag.” He looked down. “The maiden voyage, with the emperor himself aboard... it was too good an opportunity.”
“And,” said Sari, softly, “if the truth got out, you would be disgraced.”
“If they didn’t hang me for treason,” said Kolteo, still looking down. “And not just me; thousands of those now in power would be implicated.” He looked up at her. “Whether I lived or died, your name, wife or widow, would be blackened too. My own fate I can accept, but not yours!”
Julin smiled ruefully and looked at Sari. “He doesn’t understand.”
Sari nodded, her lip trembling. Now she couldn’t keep her hands from quivering. Shakily, she said, “Kolteo, my name was already blackened, before you married me. My father was the incompetent admiral who lost his fleet and his emperor. People still remember that.”
Julin leaned forward, looking intently at Kolteo. “It’s not too late, you know. You can run. Out in the Rim, they won’t care if your name is blackened, or charred, or still on fire, so long as you can work. Give it up, let my father’s name be cleared, and start over somewhere else.”
Kolteo chuckled halfheartedly. His eyes stared off into the distance. “You make it sound so easy.”
Julin laughed. “Oh, no, not easy. But you could live with yourself.”
Sari sniffed, holding back tears. “And I could live with you, Kolteo.”
Kolteo looked at her. “You still want that, after all? After what I did? I’ve not been a good husband. I’ve neglected you, Sari.”
Sari began to lower the stunner. “Mistakes can be corrected.”
Just then, Julin sat up, looking past her with wide eyes. Kolteo’s face grew stern. A commotion behind her made her stiffen. Before she could turn to see, strong arms grabbed her from behind; a black-gloved hand forced her arm to point the stunner at the ceiling. Someone screamed.
Sari struggled, but could do nothing. “Kolteo!”
Kolteo stood and surveyed the scene, every inch the stern Director. The room had gone completely still, except for Sari’s struggles. He gently lowered her arm and loosened the stunner from her grip. “I’ll take this, my love,” he said.
She held his gaze. What would he do?
Then, calmly, he ordered, “Let her go.”
Strong arms released her, and she stumbled forward into Kolteo’s arms.
Kolteo addressed the enforcers. “I have everything under control, now. Please apologize to the manager for the commotion, then return to your station.”
Looking disappointed, the enforcers bowed, then turned to carry out their orders. People were sitting back down, and the buzz of conversation began to pick up again.
Kolteo turned, guiding Sari, who clung to him. He looked at her brother. “Well, at long last, you win, Julin. You do as you please. I ask only that you give us time to put our affairs in order. A week at most.”
Julin grinned his lop-sided grin. “I’ve waited years. I can give you a week. Sari, the crystal, you have it?”
Sari nodded, swallowed back tears, and produced the crystal from her skirt pocket.
Kolteo looked astonished. “You had it the whole time!”
Sari smiled weakly. “Since last night. I’m sorry, I lied to you, Kolteo.”
Kolteo laughed, a clean, honest laugh, free of fear. He hugged her tight. “Sari, my love, we’ll have a lot to catch up on in this new life of ours. We must get started.”
The End
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