SIX

Duo had been nervous about meeting Hilde's parents and tried to put it off to no avail. Arriving at their home and being confronted with the wealth from which she had come but only hinted at didn't make the experience any less daunting. Throughout the meal, her mother looked down her nose at him while her father stole cryptic glances at him as he guzzled bourbon. Duo had been anticipating eating dessert and getting the hell out of there before her father startled him.

He rose to his feet. "Come with me to the study, young man."

Duo wasn't sure what to do, but looking at Hilde for guidance seemed wrong, so he said, "Yes ..." Damn! He was about to say, 'your highness' and remembered at the last second to say "sir." As he followed the older man, he wondered what a study was and concluded that it was probably like the drawing room. He couldn't imagine Hilde growing up here, but then he didn't even know places like the Schbeiker mansion existed on the colony.

The butler, Helmut, seemed to appear out of nowhere to open a set of double doors and as Duo stepped through, he felt as if he were walking into a cave. The room was paneled in dark wood that must have been imported from Earth, an extravagance reserved for only the wealthiest of families. The doors behind him closed with a click and Duo was startled to think he might be locked inside with Hilde's father. There was a large desk on one side of the room which was lined with bookcases. Some of the shelves contained books while others were decorated by various items that didn't seem to have any connection with each other. Duo wanted to look them over, but he didn't dare move more than a few steps into what appeared to be the other man's private space. There were two large leather covered stuffed chairs, one worn with use while the other seemed new, and between them was a small table with a crystal decanter of what appeared to be the same liquid Otto Schbeiker had been drinking at the table along with a set of glasses.

As Hilde's father crossed the room, Duo became aware of a set of swords crossed above the chairs over a shield with a design consisting of a yellow cross trimmed with black, a black eagle rising in the center. The man removed his dinner jacket and after tossing it over the back of one of the leather chairs, he unclipped his cuff links and set them on the table before rolling up the sleeves of his pristine white shirt. When he loosened his tie and stretched, Duo started to worry that he might take the swords down from the wall and challenge him.

But when he turned to look at Duo, his expression had softened and for a moment they stared at each other without speaking until Duo started to feel uncomfortable under his regard. Since he didn't speak, Duo decided that he should break the ice.

Groping for anything to say, he blurted, "I've never been in a study before."

Otto chuckled and reached for the decanter to fill two glasses half-full. "I don't suppose you have."

Duo assumed that meant he had investigated his background thoroughly and that made him feel even more uncomfortable.

The other man held out the glass to him and nodded to the chair that hadn't seen much use. "Have a seat. I'd like you to tell me about yourself."

He hesitated a moment and then decided he would ruin all of Hilde's efforts to make him presentable if he bolted for the door. Crossing the room, he took the glass and sat as Otto did the same. Duo took a sip of the drink and nearly coughed at the strength of the liquor, but he noticed that Otto had drained his glass and then seemed to be chagrined to find it empty.

Wondering what he should say, his eyes strayed to the swords and his mouth moved with words before he could consider them. "Hey, are those real?"

Otto followed his gaze, stared at the swords and shield for a moment and then responded. "They have been in my family for countless generations, since the time of the crusades. You will find similar artifacts in the homes of many families in this sector because we are all descended from Teutonic knights."

"I don't know anything about that," Duo admitted, embarrassed by his lack of education. He had been taught to read, write and do math at which he excelled, but his history lessons were neglected.

"My family's pride in its past has played an important role in how it has come to be where it is now."

"I don't have a family with a past to speak of." Duo thought Otto Schbeiker should know that he didn't have any illusions about his humble origins.

Hilde's father stared at him intently for a moment as if he were studying every feature of his face, and then he poured himself another drink. "I understand that you were left to fend for yourself."

"I don't know exactly how that happened. I think I may have run from an abusive orphanage and fell in with other kids like me." Duo really didn't have a memory about how he had gotten on the streets or how he managed to survive.

Otto made a sound of annoyance. "Life in the outer sectors is harsh and unforgiving. The men working on the construction of the colony had their homes there, and despite the government advising against it, they brought their families to live with them. They underestimated the crude nature of the living conditions and many of those families had a difficult time with day to day living. The government set up a system of child protection service centers, presumably to help them. Families struggling to provide for children and especially young women who didn't have husbands to help with the burden of raising a child were encouraged to drop off their children with the intent of reclaiming them when they were able. The government would care for the children and give them an education until their parents could provide them with a more stable home."

"I don't think that is what was happening," remarked Duo.

"No," said the other man with a long sigh. "As it turned out, the government was treating the facilities as if they were pet stores and selling the children to people for any purpose. Some wealthy families wanted to provide companions for their children, others wanted free labor, and some even wanted children but couldn't have their own. The 'adoptions' were closed and once the child was sold, there was no recourse for the families who returned to reclaim their children."

"The past is the past," said Duo. "I can't dwell on what my parents had in mind when they dropped me off. Maybe they loved me and thought they were doing what was best for me, and maybe they just wanted to get rid of me."

Otto stared silently in his drink for several moments, and then he raised his head to look at him intently for even longer before he spoke again. "I won't insult your intelligence by pretending not to know anything about you. I know everything there is to know, or at least I thought I did. Investigators can only find out so much about a man, but they can't find out exactly who he is, what drives him. What drives you, Duo Maxwell? Why does Hilde feel compelled to throw away her heritage for a man who was not even given a name?"

Duo took a sip of his drink hoping it would fortify him before he responded. "I don't know why she would do such a thing, sir. Especially after all that I have seen today."

"Perhaps it is your honesty. In our world, we measure what we are going to say before we say it and consider the consequences of what we will do before acting. Maybe that's why I sometimes feel as though the Teuton society we have created is mired in the past. Hilde's decision to join the military sent shockwaves through the community. We have the resources to withstand any siege, but she walked out the gates to confront the enemy. I was proud of her when she resisted every attempt to prevent her from leaving. Did she tell you that she had to sneak aboard a transport of recruits leaving Sector 8?"

What he was telling Duo was nothing like the story Hilde gave him. "She told me that you disapproved."

"Of course, I did! I had to give the appearance that I fell in line with the rest of the community, but I secretly applauded her determination and her sense of justice. She honestly believed the lies OZ was spewing, so I have you to thank for opening her eyes before she became completely disillusioned with what she was doing."

Duo felt embarrassed to be praised. "To be honest, sir, I sometimes wondered if I was fighting on the wrong side."

"You and Hilde have convictions that aren't derived from a set of ideals that have warped as they passed down through hundreds of years." The other man leaned over and put his hand over Duo's where it rested on the arm of the chair. "I want you to know, Duo, that I would be proud to call you son."

An anxious feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, so he took a longer swallow from the drink and then nearly upchucked his meal, but he managed to force it back down. By the amused look on Otto's face as he removed his hand and sat back in his chair, he knew what had happened.

"You probably haven't given any thought to marriage, but you must surely know that Hilde's mother is displeased that she has chosen to live with you over in Sector 10 without a permanent tie. Such arrangements are not permissible in our society."

Duo grimaced. "From her reception, I don't think she wants any permanent tie between me and Hilde."

"I suppose you are right, but that is not her decision to make." Otto rose from his chair and Duo set aside his drink to do the same. "Let's rejoin the women in the salon."

Before leaving, Otto rolled down his sleeves, put on his cuff links, straightened his tie and settled into his dinner jacket again. Seeing Duo's bemusement, he smiled and went to put his hand on his shoulder. "I hope you never have to suffer the formality prevalent in our society."

Duo sighed. "If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd rather you visited us than we visit you."

Otto chuckled. "There are advantages to a home like this. Next time you visit, I'll introduce you to the game room."

"Are there video games?" Duo asked hopefully.

"No, real games. I'll teach you to play billiards, so we can smoke cigars and get stinking drunk as we play."

"I'll bet your wife encourages that particular activity."

Otto chuckled as he led him down the hall until they met up with Helmut who appeared from the shadows to guide them to a room that they had not yet visited. Duo didn't realize there could be so many different types of rooms in a house, and he wondered if he could ever learn what they were all for. The salon looked to be a living room with furniture only slightly more comfortable than the chairs in the dining hall. Hilde's mother was sitting on a chair with spindly legs that didn't seem as if it could support any weight. She was flipping through a magazine as Hilde paced in front of a large fireplace.

"Hilde, I would appreciate if you would stay here tonight. There are some things that I need to discuss with you," announced Otto.

Duo didn't like the triumphant look on her mother's face, especially when she directed it at Hilde who seemed startled by her father's request. Had Duo completely misread Otto Schbeiker? Had thought they had a rapport.

"Why don't you take Mr. Maxwell home by car and return." Otto looked at the butler who was waiting at the door. "Helmut, call for a car and then I would like you to meet me in the study. I need your help with a project."

Hilde looked as if she would argue but nodded and crossed the room to curl her arm around Duo's. "I will be back to discuss whatever it is you feel necessary to discuss."

Duo looked at her mother. "It was a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Without responding or looking at him, she waved her hand as if he were a fly that she wanted to shoo away. Before he turned to leave with Hilde, he saw her rising from her chair, her head turned towards her husband. He wondered what they would discuss and suspected they might have an argument considering how well his visit with Otto had gone.

By the time Helmut opened the front doors to let them out, a long, black car was waiting for them, a uniformed driver holding open the door. Duo was going to help Hilde in, but she climbed in and grabbed his hand to jerk him in with her. After the driver closed the door and before Duo had a chance to get settled in the decadently comfortable seat, Hilde had climbed over him to straddle his hips.

He was going to make a joke about being nasty in the back of her parents' car, but she started kissing him and grinding on his lap. By the time the car pulled away from the mansion and was on the street, he knew Hilde intended to be as nasty as she could in the car. He was nervous about the driver knowing what they were doing even though there was a partition that gave them privacy, but Hilde didn't seem to care as she undid his pants and ordered him to help between kisses. She was hot and eager which surprised him given the chilly atmosphere of the Schbeiker residence. If the windows of the car weren't tinted dark, anyone on the street would have gotten a show they wouldn't soon forget. Duo knew he wouldn't.

When they were finished, she remained seated on him, her cheek resting on his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. He liked that she hadn't grown out the military cut because he thought she was pretty with short hair.

"You tasted like scotch," she remarked softly.

"Is that what it was?"

She raised her head to look at his face. "My father shared his scotch with you?"

"Yeah. You didn't tell me he was a nice guy. In fact, you let me think he was an asshole."

Her brows drew together. "He is an asshole."

"Maybe he just doesn't like women."

Hilde huffed. "Married to my mother for almost twenty years, why would he have a reason to like women? I've never been able to convince him that I am different."

"I don't know about that, Hilde. Maybe you just don't know him."

"He has never given me a reason to know him." She climbed off Duo and pushed down her dress, but when she retrieved her panties from the car floor, she stuffed them in the pocket of his pants that he had just fastened. "I'll get them back later."

Duo's brows raised on their own. "You're not going to have a discussion with your father without your underpants."

"Why not? I'll be thinking of you and what we did the whole time he is lecturing me." She sat back against the seat and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not giving in, Duo. They are going to nag me to leave you and stay with them, but I'm not going to do it! They chose that shitty life, but I'm not going to follow in their footsteps."

"Think about what you're giving up. A drawing room, a dining hall, a study, a game room, a salon and a butler that reads minds." Duo shook his head. "That's an awful lot."

"You forgot to mention a father that doesn't speak to me and a mother that nags me incessantly. I should have taken you to dine with the Richters. They are more my parents than the Schbeikers."

The car rolled to a stop and Duo leaned over to brush her lips with his own. "See you tomorrow. I have a job lined up from an old friend, so I might be busy."

"An old friend?"

She sounded worried, probably because his old friends on the colony were criminals or already in prison. The driver opened the door, and Duo stepped out, but he put his hand on the top of the car and leaned in to look at her. "Don't worry. I'm talking about clearing Leo debris from Sector 13. My old friend is the government. I think I'll make enough money from this job to afford a house. Of course, there won't be more than a few rooms, so I'm not sure it will be good enough for you."

Hilde smiled and grabbed his tie to pull herself up for another kiss. "I'll see if I can sneak out tonight and come back to sleep with you."

"Sleep? I don't think you have that in mind. No, you had better stay there. I don't want your mother pissed at me for your rebellion. That started long before I met you and I don't want her to have any reason to blame me."

When he stepped away, he saw Hilde flop back against the seat to pout before the driver closed the door.

"Where did Ellie go?"

Duo snapped himself out of his thoughts of the past and noticed that he had cleaned off his plate as he reminisced. "She went to stay with Robert Cameron."

Madame Chantal cocked a brow. "You don't seem bothered. Is that how marriages are these days?"

He felt guilty to admit the truth, but he didn't feel right about staying with her without her knowing. "Ellie isn't my wife. She convinced the prison warden that we were married so she could get in to see me."

"And you took advantage of her visits?" she asked with a disapproving frown. "That doesn't sound like you, Duo."

"Well, a guy stuck in prison is bound to do a few things that aren't usual. I just didn't think anything would come of our deception. She said she wanted to help me, but she was only helping herself. Since I got out of jail, we continued with the lie because ... well, I didn't want to get put back in prison because of it and Ellie would get in trouble for claiming my military benefits for Mia. If we weren't married, she wouldn't have a right to them."

To his surprise, Madame Chantal nodded in understanding. "The government would have taken Mia and put Ellie in jail. What you did was underhanded, but I don't think you had a choice."

Duo sipped his coffee. "I don't know why Ellie did it, I mean, why she let me knock her up. She never told me. If it was just about the money, she could have found an easier way to get it. I found out this morning that she was taking money from men to have sex with her while I was at work."

Madame Chantal did not seem surprised, so Duo wondered if he was just a gullible fool. "I was afraid she was making arrangements with men during her nightclub act, but I didn't want to get involved. She is talented and beautiful, so she was quite a draw for the club, but there are plenty of talented, beautiful women who will appreciate the job. I'll have to be a little more diligent about their personal lives. I don't want the colony prosecutor to accuse me of being complicit. Andreas Becker is looking for any excuse to improve his standing in the polls, especially after yesterday."

She pulled the portable telecom that was on the table closer to her and keyed in a code before turning the screen for Duo to watch a news story. He didn't recognize the man standing with a journalist, but a ticker on the bottom of the screen identified him as Andreas Becker's opponent in the election next month. Duo didn't bother with learning anything about the candidates because, as a convict, he wouldn't be allowed to vote anyway. In the background he saw the tower where he had lived with Ellie and Mia in Sector 13. Because he hadn't seen the news crew when he came home from work, Duo guessed the story had been done earlier in the day.

"This is a disgrace," said Hannibal Grey, indicating the people leaving the tower in an exodus. "Almost five hundred people are being forced from their homes because the Phoenix Group wants to knock down this building. And for what reason? Do we even know what the Phoenix Group is planning to do to Sector 13?"

"Your opponent claims that the Phoenix Group will make Sector 13 a viable part of the colony again after so many years draining the hard-earned money of citizens in surrounding sectors," remarked the journalist.

"Of course, he would say that! His fiancée, Hilde Schbeiker, represents the Phoenix Group. Her efforts have resulted in destroying the lives of hundreds of people. Her disregard for the men, women and children that lived in this tower is proof of her scorn for anybody not a part of the Teuton community."

Duo was stunned when the news broadcast played a video clip of a woman with long, dark hair leaving a night club with a well-dressed man that he didn't get a good look at. He barely recognized Hilde. She wore a clingy white dress that accentuated how thin she had gotten in the five years since he had last seen her, and when the camera caught her face, he knew it was her even though he wanted it to be a mistake.

The news report flashed to another one that showed the man she had been with standing outside the enormous colony justice building, and Duo was shocked to recognize the man that had prosecuted his case and sent him to prison.

"What do you have to say, Mr. Becker, about Hannibal Grey's accusation that your fiancée is responsible for driving hundreds of people onto the streets."

The difference between this man and the other was night and day. Hannibal Grey was middle-aged, overweight and wore an ill-fitting suit while Andreas Becker epitomized Teuton society, from his trim, lean body and healthy tanned skin to his impeccably tailored suit. Duo had put the man out of his mind during his years in prison because he was just a government employee doing his job, but now Duo remembered how he had argued so eloquently that he should be made an example of, that no one was above the law. He was just as eloquent now.

"My opponent's claims are ridiculous! My fiancée is merely representing her client to the best of her ability. What the Phoenix Group chooses to do with the properties she helps them acquire is up to the Phoenix Group. Hilde Schbeiker does not have to answer to Hannibal Grey. She donates countless hours in legal defense of men and women who have no one to stand for them in court. That he can accuse her of turning around and causing the same people to lose their homes is nothing short of slander. If I were Hilde, I would demand redress, but I know that she will not because she is a better person than Hannibal Grey."

Madame Chantal flipped off the telecom viewer. "They were in the restaurant a few days ago celebrating her victory for the Phoenix Group," she told Duo.

"They were in here?" Duo was still reeling from finding out that Hilde was going to marry the man responsible for his stay in the dungeon.

"I wasn't aware that you knew her. She must have seen you returning to the workroom and recognized you," Madame Chantal said, watching him carefully for his reaction.

Duo was anxious to hear that Hilde had seen him working, to have witnessed how far he had fallen since the last time they had been together. He could lie and tell Madame Chantal that she only recognized him because of his war record, but there was something about the older woman that made him want to be honest with her. She didn't need to take him and Mia in and yet she did, so he was going to pay her back with honesty. "Hilde and I were involved. We were working and living together when I was arrested."

Madame Chantal's brows drew together. "With all the resources at her disposal, she didn't help you?"

"I don't know why, but she never came to see me, never asked for my side of the story."

"I think I know why," said Madame Chantal who used the telecom to search something on the colony info net. When she found what she was looking for, she flipped the viewer for Duo to see.

There was a picture of Otto Schbeiker with a headline announcing his sudden death. When Duo checked the date, he was stunned to realize it was the very night he had dined with her parents, the night before his arrest. He skimmed the article which had little to say about the cause of death, but Duo would be surprised if it was health related because the man didn't appear sick and he couldn't have been more than forty-five years old.

"The story doesn't say how he died," he said aloud.

"Teuton obituaries rarely do," Madame Chantal told him. "They don't admit to the frailties the rest of us suffer, heart disease, alcoholism, or depression leading to suicide."

Duo met her gaze. "I spoke to him that night. We had a drink together. He didn't seem suicidal. He even suggested we get together again."

Madame Chantel's eyes widened in surprise. "You spoke to him? What did you discuss?"

He thought it odd that she seemed eager to hear about their conversation, but he recounted what he remembered finishing with the remark he had found odd. "He told me that he would be proud to call me his son." Duo snorted derisively. "I think he expected me to offer for Hilde, but since then I know how ridiculous that would have been. I'm not from the right sector."

She put a hand on his back and rubbed it soothingly. "Duo, you have learned the lesson we have all had to learn on this colony. We live and die at the whims of the descendants of the Teuton Knights. I suspect that at the end, Otto Schbeiker learned the same lesson."