Genghis had been hoping to make a quick exit from Tarazed's capital. However, as he made his way to the edge of the city, it was clear that it wasn't going to be possible. Though he had gotten away from the plaza where the debate was being held thanks to the cover of the Arteus Pride delegation, he no longer had that protection. He wouldn't be overlooked by the officers of the Home Guard who had moved quickly to put the city in lock down. He suspected that they would be monitoring outgoing ships as well at this time.
Passing a tavern standing amongst some small markets, Genghis stepped inside. Hoping to look simply like a traveler passing through, he pushed his hood back as he walked casually to the bar. Picking a seat away from the two other men sitting at the bar, Genghis perched on the stool. He noticed that all the monitors in the bar area had news programs on them. He refrained from staring at them, not wanting to appear too concerned about what Tarazed's press was saying, however he listened closely, gathering intelligence. If he was going to escape Argosy undetected then he needed to be smart about it.
"What can I get you?"the bartender asked, coming to a stop in front of Genghis.
Genghis glanced quickly at a nearby menu. Spotting a beef stew on it, he ordered that and a glass of water. The last thing he needed right now was alcohol to dull his senses.
Sitting in silence, Genghis waited for the bartender to come back. As the man placed a glass of water in front of him, he spoke, trying to sound casual as he asked, "so is it normal for so many Home Guard to be in the street?"
The bartender shook his head. "No, this isn't normal," he replied, gesturing toward one of the monitor. "Apparently someone made an attempt on the life of one of the triumvir candidates and they're still looking for him. The Home Guard has placed the city in lock down while they look for him."
"They saying how long that will last?" Genghis asked, picking up his glass. "I came into the city to arrange for some parts to be sent out to where I'm trying to repair an old cargo ship. Been hoping to start my own cargo business."
"You may be stuck for a while, friend," the bartender informed him. "From the media reports, it seems like the culprit is proving elusive. Let me go check on your soup," he added before turning away.
As the bartender disappeared into the kitchen, Genghis let his attention drift up to the monitor. He had anticipated the city going into lock down before he could get outside the city limits. He was going to have to rethink his next steps. Though he could always try to sneak past the posts the Home Guard would have set up around the city perimeter, he knew it would be difficult. They were sure to have patrols in the air and anyone spotted leaving the city would be questioned.
Answering questions was the last thing he wanted to do right now. His quickly thought up a cover story was good enough for the bartender but the Home Guard would check into the details. It wouldn't stand up against that scrutiny.
Perhaps his best choice right now was to just sit still and let things calm down some.
"So, know where a traveler could get a room if they don't lift the lock down?" Genghis inquired as the bartender returned with his soup.
"I believe there are some empty rooms here if you're interested," the man replied. "I can check with the owner if you would like?"
"I'd appreciate it," Genghis replied as he lifted a spoonful of soup to his mouth.
This mission was proving to be harder than he had anticipated.
Walking down the corridor of the medical facility, Captain Falcon wished he had better news to report. Whoever had fired the dart had somehow melted into the city unnoticed. Even with the sun setting outside, the city remained in lock down. Only military ships were being allowed to lift off from the city. The senate had placed tighter restrictions on all other outgoing ships which were being searched by the Home Guard prior to being allowed to leave the planet.
While he was certain that their suspect had not been able to slip out of the city, the fact that they had no clues to his identity or whereabouts did not sit well with Rayon Falcon. Whoever was behind the attack on Rhade had planned well.
Which led Rayon to believe that it was a Nietzschean behind it all. Nietzscheans were cunning and detail oriented by nature. However, he didn't think it was any of the Nietzscheans that called Tarazed their home. That just didn't make sense. However, one of the prides not within the Commonwealth trying to further destabilize the government made perfect sense.
Speculations got them nowhere though. He needed proof. He needed to find the person or persons responsible - not only for the sake of the Commonwealth but for Rhade and his family as well.
Reaching the room he had been told his boss was in, Captain Falcon knocked on the door. Getting a, "come in," in response to the knock, he opened the door and stepped inside.
The hospital room was lit by a single lamp over the bed. However, the bed was empty. Letting his gaze drift around the room, Falcon spotted the admiral standing by the room's one window.
"Should you be up?" Captain Falcon asked as he stepped further into the room.
"You sound like Jillian," Rhade said in response to the inquiry. He had turned, slightly away from the window, a cane in his right hand helping him with support and balance, and was looking in the captain's direction. "However, I don't plan on just lying in a hospital bed while I can still be up and around. From what the doctors are saying, there is going to be plenty of that eventually."
Falcon nodded, knowing what Rhade was referring to due to the brief medical report he had received on his boss. "Fair enough," he conceded, as he crossed the room to stand by Rhade.
"Any luck tracking down who did this?"
Falcon shook his head as both men looked out over the lights of the city. "No. It's like he's a ghost and he just disappeared. I have some men still conducting a search of the city while its still in lock down."
"By morning people are going to be restless with the look-down order," Rhade commented.
"I know. However, if he's still in the city then I want to limit his chances of escape. Tri-Laurent's asked that we find a way to limit restrictions some if this goes on past tomorrow morning. I have Commander Tudor working on strategic places to set up check points in and out of the city if it comes to that."
"And if whoever did this, doesn't have a criminal record?"
Having already thought of that, and not having an answer, Falcon gave a long sigh before replying. "I don't know, sir."
There was a brief pause before Falcon spoke again. "I've spent the last few hours questioning the suspect we caught that threw the fire bomb at your house. He claims that there had been no plans to carry out an attack at you at the debate and I'm inclined to believe him. This seems too sophisticated for that bunch giving the sloppy manner at which they carried things out that night."
Rhade nodded but didn't reply, though he had come to the same conclusion himself. Though close in proximity, he was convinced that the two incidents were not connected. Today's attack had clearly had much more planning.
"I also wanted to let you know that I plan on talking to the teens that were throwing things at you during the protest a few days ago."
"You seriously think this was carried out by some upset and confused teenagers?" Rhade asked incredulously.
"No. However, giving their views, perhaps they've overheard something or know of a group that might be capable of pulling something like this off. At this point, I need to follow any path available to me, because I unfortunately have no real leads."
"Just do it discreetly, please," Rhade requested, already knowing that his second in command would do just that.
"I will," Falcon assure him. He paused a moment before continuing. "I was also hoping to get your permission to get those written threats that you've received or at least the ones you've kept. Again, I realize that we're running down rabbit trails with them, but we need to look into all possibilities and as I said before, I'd like to look into the background of the people sending them. See if any red flags get raised."
"You're in charge of the investigation. You could easily get legal permission to access my office to conduct the investigation, especially as Tri-Lorn had already suggested doing the background checks as a precaution and I refused. People have a right to voice their opinions."
"Voice them, yes. Put people in danger, no," Falcon said. "And you're right, I probably could have gotten either triumvir to legally give me access to your office and its contents," he added, reaching out to place a hand on Rhade's shoulder. "However, not only are you my commanding officer but you're also my friend. I'd rather have your okay to go down this particular avenue instead of doing it behind your back."
Rhade nodded. Despite still having misgivings about accidently putting citizens at risk, Falcon was right. The situation had indeed escalated to the point where all possibilities needed to be checked out.
"You're right and I appreciate you being up front about what you're doing," Rhade told him.
Turning from the window, Rhade made his way slowly to the bed. Pulling out a drawer on the bedside stand, he removed a couple of key cards from the drawer. Turning again, he handed the cards to Falcon who had followed him from the window.
"These will get you into both my office and the locked drawer of the desk and the house. There are some more flexis in the top left drawer of the desk in my office."
"I appreciate it," Falcon said, taking the cards. "We're going to catch whoever is behind this."
"I hope so," Rhade said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He was tired, physically and emotionally. Not for the first time, he wondered why he had put his family through this. Perhaps he should've never even chosen to have a family, knowing that he wanted to be career military. The Home Guard had been his calling for a long time. Sure, people try to have both the career and the family but right now, Telemachus couldn't help but wonder if it was really fair to the spouse and the children. Especially the children. They had no say in any of this.
"We are," Falcon reiterated, sitting down in the nearby easy chair and looking over at his commanding officer and friend. He could see the doubt in the older man's expression and after all Rhade had done for him over the years, Falcon knew he needed to be strong for Rhade. Whether he knew it or not, Rhade needed someone to lean on through all of this. "None of the guys are going to quit until we do and we're going to do whatever it takes to keep you, Jillian and the children safe."
"This isn't fair to them," Rhade said, feeling the need to voice the misgivings tumbling around in his head. "They've been through enough already. It wasn't fair to put them through even more. I should've never let myself be talked into running for triumvir."
"You don't seem like the person to be talked into doing something. Part of you must know that you can make a difference in that position. Nor do I believe it was a decision you made without Jillian's input."
"You're right. Still, I'm supposed to protect them. All I've been doing is putting them in harm's way for the last few years."
"Not on purpose, you haven't. The choices you've made, you made in an attempt to protect not only Jillian and your kids, but all the people of Tarazed and you continue to do just that. I saw you the other night. Your family was your number one priority. You can't control everything that happens. All you can control is how you react to things when they do happen."
Rhade looked over at Falcon. "Stop throwing my own words at me," he muttered.
"They're good words," Falcon told him. "So was what you told me when I was debating on whether I should propose to Elise or not, which was that if we cared about someone and they cared about us, then it wasn't for us to dictate the future. We make sure they understand the kind of life they are choosing to take on if they're with us and then we make sure that when we're at home we leave the job behind us, and are with our families. That it is in those times that we let them know how important they are to us. I saw you the other night with your daughter, and you were doing exactly that."
Rhade nodded, glancing briefly at the floor to get his emotions in check before looking up. "Thanks. I needed that reminder."
"Anytime," Falcon replied. "If there isn't anything else you need me for, I'm going to get back to work."
"I'm fine. You've got plenty to do as it is. Just remember to get some sleep yourself."
"Is that an order?" Falcon joked as he got to his feet.
"It can be," Rhade replied. "I haven't been relieved of command just yet."
Falcon gave his commanding officer a quick salute before heading for the door, leaving Rhade alone again.
It was almost noon before Genghis, or Samuel Rookwood as he had signed in the previous night, made an appearance the morning following the incident at the debate. His hope was to find out that the lock down on Tarazed's capital had been lifted and he could make his way out of the city. As he made his way into the tavern's dinning area, that hope was quickly dashed.
"I want to let the citizens of Tarazed, and others of the Commonwealth, know that I will not give in to the demands of extremists who feel justified in resorting to violence to get there way. What I do believe in, is listening to the voice of the people through elections and other proper channels. I plan on continuing my campaign despite the incident yesterday."
As Admiral Telemachus Rhade finished speaking, the camera switched to Tri-Lorn who was sitting a few chairs away from the Home Guard Commander. The triumvir went on to state that though the total lock down of the city would be lifted this afternoon, all entry and departures from the Capital would have to be done through specified check points.
As he gave the waitress his order, Genghis pondered his next move. Staying at the tavern now would arouse suspicion giving the story he had told the bartender for his presence in the city. A legitimate citizen who had been shopping for ship parts would not feel compelled to stay as after a quick check of his id at a security point, he would be allowed to go on his way. However, though he had an id for Samuel Rookwood, Genghis wasn't about to risk trying to get through a security checkpoint in this situation with it. Given their heightened sense of alert, he doubted that it would hold up to the Home Guard's scrutiny.
So, he had to leave the tavern, but leaving the city was out for now. He needed to find a way to lay low until things calmed down a bit.
Genghis briefly considered trying to join back up with his 'pals' from the Arteus Pride, but quickly dismissed the idea. Trying to explain why he had disappeared without a word might prove difficult. It could even start arousing suspicion, if his disappearance hadn't already. For all he knew, the Arteus Alpha could be reporting the presence of an unknown person among his people who disappeared right after the incident yesterday to the Home Guard right now.
As the waitress brought back his order, Genghis considered getting a room at another establishment. Of course, that meant another cover story. If people started linking different stories with the same face, suspicions could be aroused.
No, his best bet would be to simply try to blend into the shadows. If he stayed on the streets, he could keep his hood up without too many people asking questions. He could also stay on the move and hopefully stay away from Home Guard soldiers asking questions.
His decision made, Genghis relaxed and began to enjoy his meal. It very well could be his last warm meal for a while.
