Sarein blinked her large, dark eyes. “You’re a very odd man, Mr. Cain. How can you be so perceptive?”

Before he and Sarein made their way back to the Hansa HQ, Cain received the expected call. He had intentionally timed it that way. He wanted her with him when they went to “investigate.”

Like Chairman Wenceslas, Cain couldn’t do everything himself. Captain McCammon should also be on his way.

Colonel Andez and several members of the cleanup crew had already responded to the fire that had gutted a small storage chamber in a block of personal warehouses. The self-contained locker was unremarkable in a beehive complex of identical units. It had been fitted out as a mail drop and wired as an office cell — barely room enough for one person with a chair and an upload terminal. It had served its purpose.

Andez picked through sodden bits of electronic equipment slimed with fire-suppressant foam. Cain noted that the primer-painted metal door had been physically bent from its hinges — exactly the sort of boneheaded enthusiasm he had expected from the cleanup crew. They had torn their way inside, sure they would find a nest of rebels in a two-meter-square cubicle.

When she saw Deputy Cain and Sarein arrive, Andez straightened. Falling short of an actual salute, she brushed a smear of soot from her cheek, making the mark worse. “They keep springing up, sir. When will they learn? This group calls itself Freedom’s Sword. Nobody had ever heard of them until a few days ago.”

Cain pursed his lips. “You are in error, Colonel. Freedom’s Sword is an active and widespread organization that has been operating quietly, but effectively, for many months. My own people have been tracking them. You’d best keep a close watch. Did you find any leads here?”

Her expression hardened even further. “We arrived too late, unfortunately. The fire destroyed the equipment, and our electronic autopsy specialists claim it was thoroughly wiped even before that. But we do know that this site was a transmission point for seditious messages. The perpetrators rebroadcast Patrick Fitzpatrick’s condemnation statement” — her face twisted briefly, and Cain remembered that Andez and Fitzpatrick had been POWs together among the Roamers — “as well as King Peter’s message calling for the resignation of Chairman Wenceslas.”

“The resignationor overthrow of the Chairman,” Cain amended.

“That only makes it worse,” Andez said.

Sarein clearly wondered why Cain had wanted her to accompany him here. “Nothing new in all that,” she said. “Those messages have been seen plenty of times before. Why would anyone bother with such a setup?”

Cain nodded solemnly. “Yes, with a group as sophisticated as Freedom’s Sword, there must be a far more insidious purpose. Colonel Andez, I suggest you find the exact messages they broadcast and devote significant manpower to analyzing them. It’s possible there’s another, more sinister message coded into the carrier signal. Pay particular attention to irregularities in background static.”

Cain enjoyed watching her enthusiasm. Those orders would keep Andez’s people busy for days.

Finally Captain McCammon arrived with four of his hand-picked royal guards. McCammon smiled at Sarein. “Glad to see you, Ambassador.” Then he got down to business, looking completely professional. “Colonel Andez, my men will take over the on-site investigation from here.”

She bristled. “This job clearly falls under our purview.”

Cain interceded. “Colonel Andez, the unrest fostered by Freedom’s Sword is a direct threat to the authority and rule of King Rory. Therefore it is fitting that the royal guard should be in charge. Your people are dismissed.”

“Don’t you have transmissions to analyze?” Sarein added.

“These rebels endanger the Chairman and the very stability of the Hansa.”

Cain continued in a reasonable voice. “You know Chairman Wenceslas doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. If we present this as a threat to our beloved savior and King, there’s a better chance the people will turn against Freedom’s Sword.”

After a few more moments of confusion, the cleanup crew packed away their shards of evidence and sample scrapings and departed, leaving Captain McCammon in charge of the site.

When they were gone, Sarein turned to Cain wearing a no-nonsense expression. “Now, what was all that about? Why did you bring me here?”

McCammon watched his men comb over the wreckage in the cramped office cell. He looked very skeptical. “And what do you really expect me to find in there that the cleanup crew missed?”

“There’s nothing to find.” Cain smiled, then said in a low voice, “But it certainly got Colonel Andez worked up, didn’t it? The diversion will keep them chasing shadows so that they have less time to harass innocent people.”

Sarein drew a quick breath as she jumped to the obvious conclusion. “You knew about this. You’re a member of Freedom’s Sword.”

Cain shook his head. “Not exactly. Freedom’s Sword is entirely my creation, a will-o’-the-wisp. I needed a conduit to disseminate certain information — such as when I leaked the news about Queen Estarra’s pregnancy before the Chairman could force her to have an abortion. It can be very useful to imply the existence of a much larger organization calling for the Hansa to join the Confederation. Many others are now taking independent action, as well, and the movement seems to be growing on its own. Any random dissident activity is chalked up to the work of a larger organization.”

McCammon stared, then laughed. “So you plant little seeds like this to divert attention from yourself.”

“To divert attention from all three of us, Captain.” Cain looked at Sarein and the guard. “None of us has clean hands when it comes to the escape of King Peter and Queen Estarra. and plenty of other minor actions, any one of which would be considered treason if the Chairman decided to define them that way. Freedom’s Sword is a facade, but a useful one.”

McCammon’s guards had removed the inner layer of scorched metal plating from the office cell and with great excitement uncovered a lump of fused polymers and wires, the incendiary trigger.

“Keep looking,” McCammon gruffly told them.

“You’ve given a focus and a voice to all the dissatisfied and frightened people that we know are out there,” Sarein said. “That’s something to be proud of. But Basil will never resign, you know — especially if he ever finds out the organization of dissenters is only a sham.”

“Not a sham. They’re out there. I’m merely providing the catalyst. As people hear more and more about a large and organized group, I believe Freedom’s Sword will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

52

Admiral Esteban Diente