Kefira and Jessie met no one in the gardens of the Lakshmanan property and before long they approached the house. It also appeared very quiet and Jessie hesitated at the edge of the beautifully manicured lawn.
"Not the front door," she murmured softly to her companion.
"No," Kefira agreed immediately. "Let us try the terrace." Squaring their shoulders, the two young women set out across the lawn with a determined stride. No one appeared to question their approach and before long they had mounted the steps and crossed to the terrace doors. Looking around to be certain they were not being observed, Kefira reached out and tried the handle.
"Locked," she told Jessie in a low voice.
"Not a problem," the redhead replied. She glanced around quickly once again, and then stepped up to the door. Kefira didn't see what she did, but with a soft metallic 'snick', the door popped open. The two slipped in and closed the door behind them softly.
"Now where?" Jessie breathed.
Kefira motioned with her head and set off swiftly. As they advanced, Jessie looked around the house with interest. It appeared to have been styled after the elegant British homes of the Victorian era. Rooms were high-ceilinged with slow-moving ceiling fans that stirred the air languidly. They had entered into what appeared to be a morning room or conservatory. They moved from that room into a long hallway lined with paintings. At the end, it opened into a large, open reception area. A staircase led to a second floor, and on the far side, they both saw a doorway that looked to lead to a matching corridor on the other side of the house. The two of them hung back in the doorway, listening carefully. Muted voices could be heard coming from the other side of the reception area. They both shied back into the shadows as a young girl dressed in a light-colored sari and carrying a tray laden with food crossed the reception area and climbed the stairs to the second level. After a long moment, Kefira gesture again and the two slipped out and crossed silently to the staircase. They ascended quickly, pausing at the top of the stairs. The girl had turned left and Kefira quickly followed her. A moment later, she ducked into a convenient doorway as the girl stopped at the far end of the floor and, balancing the tray carefully, knocked at the door there. An indistinct male voice replied, at which point the girl opened the door and entered. Jessie and Kefira moved in swiftly. Easing the door open just slightly, both heard a man's voice speaking in a calm, steady tone.
"You must eat." A low, indistinct voice replied.
Kefira's eyes flicked to Jessie's. Mr. Lakshmanan, she mouthed silently to her companion.
Who is the other one? Jessie mouthed back at her.
Kefira just shook her head.
"Please . . . eat," the man said patiently. "You have taken nothing since you arrived. It will not do to allow your strength to fade. We search, but you know that it must be done quietly. We risk much if your enemies find out you are here."
Neither of the young women heard a response. Silently pulling her gun, Kefira gripped the door handle and gestured for Jessie to follow. Then she shoved the door open and sprang into the room, her weapon leveled. What she saw froze her in her tracks.
A young girl stood on the far left side of the room not far from the windows. A middle-aged man stood behind a desk in the middle of the room facing the door, and the girl Kefira and Jessie had followed stood across the desk from him next to the tray she had set down on its surface. The girl by the windows had been facing the other two and had seen the door burst open. At the sudden movement, she had brought the rifle she still held to bear. The two stared at each other across their leveled weapons in disbelief.
"Maia?" Kefira gasped, and at the sound of her voice, the girl dropped her gun and pelted across the room to throw herself into her sister's arms. Kefira hugged her tightly as the child burst into tears and clung to the older girl frantically. Jessie kept her weapon trained on the other two people as she crossed the room and picked up the rifle that Maia had dropped. As she did so, she spotted a second child . . . a young boy . . . lying on a sofa against the wall. Crossing the room, she propped the rifle against the wall in the corner, and then knelt to check him carefully. He appeared to be sleeping the sleep of the exhausted.
"Kefira," Jessie called to her. Kefira's head snapped up and she spotted the two at the sofa. Hugging her little sister even closer, she lifted the child off the floor and moved swiftly to where Jessie knelt. At her approach, Jessie stepped aside and then reached for the gun the other woman still held. "Give me that," she said quietly. Kefira immediately surrendered the gun and, still clutching her sister, bent to check on her younger brother.
Sliding Kefira's gun into her shoulder holster, Jessie turned back to the other two people in the room. "I'm assuming that you are Mr. Lakshmanan," she said to the middle-aged man in an even tone. Her own weapon was still held at ready, but she did not level it at the man.
He swallowed twice before he managed to reply. "Yes."
"Is your house secure? No one is holding you here against your will?"
Mutely, he shook his head. Then he took a deep breath and in a relatively steady voice, he asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm with her," Jessie replied shortly, gesturing toward Kefira. Then she snapped the safety on, tucked her pistol into the waistband at the small of her back, and turned back to Kefira and her siblings. The boy still slept, oblivious to what was going on, as Kefira tried to calm her sister enough to get answers from her.
"Hush, Maia. It is all right. I am here. Can you tell me . . . what are you doing here? Where are father and mother?"
The child struggled valiantly to get herself under control as she tried to get her message out. "Mother said . . . told me . . . had to give you . . . a message . . . Then the men came . . . made us hide in the garden . . . and . . . and . . ." Tears came uncontrollably once more and child gasped and couldn't continue. Kefira knelt down in front of her and hugged her again. The look she gave Jessie as the other young woman knelt next to her was fearful. Jessie reached out and stroked the child's head gently.
"I know it's hard, Maia, but it's okay now. Please, can't you tell us what happened?"
The child stared at Jessie with huge, frightened eyes. Bewilderment pushed some of the shock back and Maia sniffed loudly and asked, "Who . . . who are . . . you?"
Kefira laid a hand on the side of the child's face and smiled at her. "She is my very best friend in the whole world, and she has come to help me. You said a message, Maia. From mother? What were you to tell me?"
The child gasped once more and then rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes hard, trying to gather her wits. "S-she said I was to say . . ." The child paused again, and then her eyes closed and her expression stilled. Both women got the feeling that she was searching for something. When she spoke again her voice was flat and steady, and she almost seemed to age before their eyes. "She said I was to say these words to you . . . 'War is come, the Sultan is not to return under any circumstances, and Rajeev begs shelter for his children from Dr. Benton Quest.' And then she sent us away."
Kefira hissed as she exhaled sharply. Her gaze was bleak as her eyes locked with Jessie's for an instant. Then her focus returned to her sister. Maia's eyes were open again and an unnatural calm had settled over the girl as she stared at her sister. "Tell me what has happened, Maia. Where are mother and father?"
The girl's face twisted for an instant and then that implacable calmness returned. In a flat, uninflected voice, she replied, "They are dead. The Janissaries murdered them."
Kefira stiffened and paled noticeably. "Dead? Are you certain?"
"Yes. They came from all directions. Mother made us hide in the garden and lured the men away so that we could escape out of the back gate. She sent us into the mountains . . . said if she and father did not come by nightfall that we were to flee through the mountain passes to Mr. Lakshmanan. Srinivasan and I watched from above as the Janissaries shot them down. Then they set fire to the house and burned it to the ground." That calm facade broke for a second and the grieving child shone through once more as she added, "They were still there . . . all of my friends . . . Deepti and Lali and Paven . . . and . . . and Usha . . ."
Kefira closed her eyes, grief and horror etched in her face as she drew her sister into her arms once more. "They burnt the house with all of them still inside?" she whispered hoarsely. Maia nodded wordlessly against her shoulder. They remained that way for a long moment and then Kefira pushed the child back to stare at her again. Tightly controlled fury had replaced shock as she demanded, "Who, Maia? Who did this? You said Janissaries, but they do not operate without orders. Who directed them to do this?"
Maia shook her head. "I do not know his name," she replied. Jessie was struck by the identical expressions of rage on the faces of the two sisters as the younger girl added, "but I had seen him before. He was the man that came with the Lady Neela to see you and Father right before you went to America."
"Arun Birla!" Kefira spat venomously. She rose to her feet and hugged her sister to her side protectively. "What do you know of this?" she demanded of Mr. Lakshmanan harshly.
The man shook his head. "Nothing more than what she has said. She came to me with her brother two days ago. They were exhausted and terrified. She would say little other than that she had been sent by your mother and that it was vital that she speak with you. I did not realize until she arrived that you were not in the home of your father, and then I did not know how to reach you. The only information she could provide me was the name of Benton Quest, and when I attempted to contact him, I could never get beyond a woman named Iris. She would not allow me to speak with Dr. Quest and I did not think it wise to leave a message that an enemy could trace back here. It was not until this morning that she told me the story of your parents' death."
"And what news is coming out of Bangalore?"
Again, Lakshmanan shook his head. "Very little. I attempted to call your family's home right after Maia and her brother arrived, but the line appeared to be out of order. I also tried the number I have for your father at his main mine, but was unable to get through there, either. Rumors of fighting in the countryside are circulating and I know that all of the ports of entry have been closed. There is also a rising tide of refugees attempting to cross into India. Janissary troops are holding the borders and most of the refugees do not get through, but those that do are telling stories of atrocities committed by these troops against the people of the rural areas."
"What of word of the Sultan?"
"Nothing. I have heard speculation among government officials about the possibility of his death, but there is no official word from Bangalore."
"So he's still alive," Jessie said with relief. Kefira's look said she was not quite so certain and Jessie smiled at her confidently. "He's tough, Kefira. So's Jon. If Birla isn't publicly proclaiming him dead, then he's still with us. All we've gotta do is find them."
After a minute, the Indian girl took a deep breath and nodded. "You are right. We must continue."
"Let's get the others and then we can make plans for our next step." Jessie turned away from Kefira and her sister and smiled at the girl with the tray. "I have an errand for you if Mr. Lakshmanan will permit," she said to the girl in perfect Hindi. Jessie watched as her eyes widened in surprise. Then she looked up at the man who stood beside her questioningly. He hesitated briefly and then nodded. Quickly, Jessie shrugged out of her black bomber jacket and handed it to the girl. "Put this jacket around your shoulders and go out to the far side of the gardens near the shrubbery maze. There are two people out there waiting for us. If they have not approached you by the time you reach the edge of the gardens, just wait. They will come. When they approach you, you are to tell them that Monica Leveck says that it is clear and that they are needed at the house. Then you are to lead them here. Do you understand?" The girl nodded silently. "Do you speak English?"
"Yes, my father insists that we learn several languages," the girl replied in heavily accented but understandable English.
Jessie smiled at her again. "Good. Perhaps the woman speaks Hindi, but I do not think that the man who waits for us does." Jessie knelt down in front of the girl and laid a hand on her shoulder. "What is your name?"
"Juhi."
"Well, Juhi, I do not want you to be afraid. These people may appear very suddenly and with no warning, and they may sound very gruff . . . particularly the man . . . but they will not hurt you. I promise. Do you think that you can do this for Sultana Singh and I?"
The child gasped and her eyes grew even bigger as she turned an awed gaze on Kefira, who stared at Jessie in astonishment. "She is the Sultana? The real one?" the child whispered.
"Yes, she is. Will do you this thing for her?"
The child's eyes snapped back to Jessie's and she clutched the jacket to her tightly. "Yes! I will go right away and do just as you ask."
Jessie rose to her feet as the child turned toward the door. Then Juhi stopped, turned back again, and executed a formal bow to Kefira. "By your leave, Sultana . . ." she whispered.
Kefira gathered her scattered wits and nodded to the child, who turned and scurried out. Kefira stared after her for a moment and then looked back at Jessie. "Are you certain that was a wise idea? She is sure to tell her mother and her friends and word will spread quickly that a woman claiming to be the Sultana of Bangalore has been seen in Mumbai."
Jessie shrugged as she strode over to the windows to watch for the girl. "It's a calculated risk, but one we have to take, I think. If things are as bad as they sound, the more pressure we can put on Birla, the better. He's struggling to consolidate his hold on the country and I think our logic is still sound. Hadji is free and a threat, or Birla would have proclaimed himself Sultan by this time. I'd also take bets that Neela is causing someone ulcers, too."
"Yes . . . Hadji," Kefira replied bitterly as she sat Maia down in a nearby chair and went over to check on her brother.
"No, not any more," Jessie replied quietly, turning back to the room. "Kefira, Neela may be a lot of things, but this much I do know . . . she loves her son. However misguided her actions may have seemed, I know that she was only doing what felt she was in Hadji and Bangalore's best interests. And as for her supporting Birla and his actions . . . that ended the instant he began using the Janissaries. It was members of that group that murdered Haresh, and Neela suffered horribly at their hands under Deepak and Vikram. She would never willingly permit them to rise to power again."
"All right, I can accept that," Kefira replied grudgingly after a moment. "You have more personal knowledge of her than I do. But I still do not see what good can come of making our marriage public."
"It divides Birla's attention . . . gives him something else to worry about. You're right . . . word will spread like wildfire, particularly once we get into Bangalore itself. And I'm banking on your father and Hadji's popularity with the people. They will rally around you, adding even more pressure. And a man under pressure is one who makes mistakes."
Lakshmanan had been looking from one young woman to the other with a dumbfounded look on his face, not sure what to make of these two. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke up hesitantly. "Ms. Subramanian, I do not believe your father . . ."
"Singh," Kefira said flatly, just as Jade and Paul walked in the door. They both came to an abrupt halt, staring at her. "My name is Singh . . . Kefira Singh." A subtle change came over her as she squared her shoulders and lifted her head proudly, as though coming to some kind of monumental decision. She eyed them all with a regal look and her tone allowed no room for argument as she added, "I am the first and only wife of Hadji Singh, rightful ruler of the independent nation of Bangalore, and Sultana by right of that marriage."
You could have cut the silence with a knife.
It was Maia that shattered the tableau. Lurching to her feet, she stumbled forward to face her sister. Drawing herself up, she bowed regally and said, "Excellency, I ask for redress."
Kefira observed her sister closely for a long moment before she replied distantly, "I see you, Maia Subramanian. State your grievance."
"Excellency, six days ago men came to the home of my family. These men shot my father and my mother, burned our home, and left my young brother and myself with nothing." Maia's eyes glittered with the force of her pent up rage, and Kefira stood silently for a long moment looking at her.
"And what is it you seek as redress for these actions?"
"I want them to pay for what they have done," the girl cried shrilly. "I want to see them shot down and left in the dirt the way they left my mother and father. I want to watch them burn alive as my nursemaid and my friends did. I want them to suffer!"
The silence stretched out uncomfortably as Kefira stood staring at her younger sister. Finally, in a surprisingly gentle voice, she asked, "Is this the way you were raised, Maia Subramanian? Vengeance is not the Hindi way and all of your life you have followed the path of Brahman. Would you now throw away all that you have believed in?"
Tears brimmed in Maia's eyes and spilled over. "The Goddess Kali teaches that destruction is as much a part of the natural order of the universe as serenity. My father was a good man. He cared for the people that looked to him and concerned himself with their needs. It is not right that the men who did this thing should not be punished."
"Would you then choose to become a follower of the Order of Kali . . . to devote yourself to the study of the more violent side of the world and her people? This has never before been your path of choice." Kefira sighed softly. "They shall be punished, Maia Subramanian, and you shall have redress for your grievances. In this you may rest easy. But it will not be done in anger. Rather, it will be handled according to the laws of our land and to our customs. I swear to you that I will take your grievance to the Sultan and justice will prevail. But you must leave this in other hands and be satisfied with the result."
All of them could see the girl gathering herself to protest, but Kefira's gazed locked with her younger sister's, keeping the girl silent. Finally, Maia bowed once more and said somewhat sullenly, "It shall be as you command, Excellency."
Suddenly, Kefira's regal bearing dropped away and she reached out and caught the girl's chin, forcing her head up so their eyes locked. "They will not go unpunished, sister. I swear to you." Maia sniffed loudly and rubbed her hand across her eyes again before she nodded.
"Perhaps it is not my place to offer advice, Excellency," Mr. Lakshmanan said quietly, "but Maia has refused to rest or eat properly since she arrived at my house. She brought herself and her younger brother out of Bangalore over the high passes, and traveled all the way to Mumbai with no assistance from anyone; and she managed this without your enemies becoming aware that she had escaped their trap. Once here, she continued to insist on the urgency of her need to reach you or the Sultan so that she could pass on the message entrusted to her by her parents. Now, she needs nourishment and sleep."
"Singleminded . . . just like her older sister," Jessie was heard to murmur softly from her position at the window overlooking the lawn and gardens.
Kefira smiled at Maia as she replied, "I thank you for your advice, Mr. Lakshmanan. There is much wisdom in your words. Can I once again impose on your daughter to lead my sister to a place where she may do these things?"
Juhi stepped forward eagerly and bowed so deeply, she overbalanced and had to stagger a bit to keep from falling over. Kefira's smile widened as she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder to steady her. "Go with her, Maia. I will join you later. And I want you to take our brother with you." Turning, she knelt and ruffled the boy's hair. "Vassey . . . Vassey, wake up."
The child's dark, thick lashes fluttered and he opened his eyes reluctantly. He blinked blearily, and finally asked, "Kefa?"
"Yes. I need for you to go with Maia, Vassey. Can you do that?"
Awareness grew in the boy's eyes and suddenly they all saw his bottom lip begin to tremble and tears suddenly spilled over. "There were bad men, Kefa. They hurt Mama and Papa."
"I know, Vassey. I know. And I have to talk with these people about it. I need for you to go with Maia now so that I can do that."
"I want to stay with you," he said, starting to cry harder. Suddenly he wailed, "I WANT TO GO HOME!"
Kefira gathered the boy to her and hugged him consolingly. "I know, Vassey. But if I am to find a way to do that, I need to meet with these people. If you will go with Maia now, we will talk about it in a little while. Can you do that for me?"
Maia stepped up and caught her little brother by the hand. "Come on, Vassey. Juhi has promised us sweets before we go back to sleep again. Let us go find some, okay?"
Reluctantly, the boy released Kefira and allowed himself to be led out of the room by his sister. As the door closed, Kefira turned to Jessie. "Things are much worse that we feared," she said tightly, her fists clenched.
Jessie nodded, straightening from her lounging position against the wall. "No question about that." She looked at the other woman carefully. "You okay?"
"Yes." Kefira took a deep breath, and Jessie could see the tightly leashed fury that burned in her eyes. "Now is not the time to grieve for my parents. There are other matters . . . other people we must concern ourselves with."
"There's not much left we can do," Paul observed. "With the situation in Bangalore this bad, our best bet is to head back to the States with Kefira's brother and sister and see if we can get the State Department to put pressure on the Bangalorian government to locate Sultan Singh."
"That's next to useless," Jade said in disgust. "The revolutionary faction in Bangalore isn't going to care if the U.S. State Department is screaming to know Hadji's whereabouts."
"They will once they realize that his disappearance is likely to cause an international incident . . ."
"There is no time any longer," Kefira continued to Jessie as though no one else had said a word.
"No. No choice but to move forward quickly. First things first . . . we've got to make arrangements to get your brother and sister out of here."
"Now wait just a minute!" Paul exclaimed. "Surely you're not thinking of . . . "
Jessie turned to Lakshmanan, cutting Paul of sharply. "Is there a telephone I can use? It will be an overseas call . . ."
The man gestured toward the desk. "There is both a standard phone and a vid-phone that you are welcome to use. As for Maia and Srinivasan, they are welcome to remain here . . ."
Kefira shook her head, beginning to pace restlessly as Jessie moved to the desk. "Your offer is generous, sir, but I cannot ask you to put yourself or your family in such jeopardy. Word of my marriage will spread rapidly and our enemies will be sure to attempt to trace the source of the rumors. And that is sure to bring to light Maia's flight from Bangalore with my brother. Two children of their age on their own . . . armed and with money . . . will be remembered. It is vital that they be removed from your home so that our enemies do not think you hold anything that could be used as leverage against either my husband or I."
"Surely you can't still be thinking of going into Bangalore?" Paul demanded again, his eyes flicking from one young woman to the other. "It's suicide!"
"I'm afraid he's right, Jess," Jade said, as the vid-phone began to ring, attempting to make the connection. "With things this bad, if you enter the country, you are sure to be captured. And you have to know it's the worst thing that could happen right now. With Hadji missing . . ."
"QUEST COMPOUND. HOW MAY I HELP YOU?"
Turning from the people in the room, Jessie demanded, "IRIS, it's Jessie. Let me talk to my dad." She glanced up at Kefira, "What time is it anyway."
Kefira glanced at her watch quickly. "Almost one . . . it will be nearly midnight there."
Jessie grimaced. "Sure to be getting them out of bed then . . ."
Abruptly, the monitor on the vid-phone flared to life, and Jessie stared at the image dumbfounded.
"Jessica?"
"Mr. Blackman?" she said incredulously. "What are you doing there? Where's my dad?"
Garrett Blackman replied with tightly controlled urgency, "Jessica, is Jon with you? And his brother? They are needed here . . . immediately."
"They aren't here right now. What's happened?"
"It's Dr. Quest. He's extremely ill."
"Define 'ill'," she said in a hard voice.
Blackman hesitated for an instant and then replied bluntly, "He's dying."
Kefira made a strangled sound as she came around the desk so she could see the vid-phone monitor. Jessie stared at the man blankly. "Dying? What do you mean? He can't be dying! I know he wasn't well, but Dr. Mason couldn't even find anything wrong with him."
"I don't know the details. All I know is that whatever it is, it's the same thing that's caused him to behave so strangely over the last several months and it's escalating. Evidently, there may be some hope of finding a cure for it, but he's getting too ill to continue the research. He needs both Jon and Hadji's skills to find a solution. And time's running out."
Jessie swore softly and ran a hand over her hair in an unconscious parody of one of her father's gestures, as Kefira looked down at her. "You could go back . . . help Dr. Quest with the research . . . while I go after them."
Jessie met her gaze and shook her head. "No. If it's lunacy for both of us to go, there's no question it's suicide for you to go alone. Someone you can trust has to be at your back. Furthermore, no matter how good I am in theoretical research, the one he needs is Hadji. He's the one with the ability to make the intuitive, cutting-edge leaps. I'm the hardcore researcher . . . I'm good at the detailed analysis that proves or disproves the theories Hadji and Dr. Quest come up with, and Jonny excels at applying the results to everyday problems. It's why we make such a formidable research team . . . our strengths compliment each other." She hesitated and then added bleakly, "And, if it comes down to a choice between Dr. Quest's life and the welfare of the entire population of Bangalore . . . well, I know what Dr. Quest would expect of me."
"They aren't with you, then." Blackman said.
"No."
"In Bangalore." Blackman said heavily, making it a statement rather than a question. "Are they alive?"
"To the best of our knowledge. Where's my father? I need to talk to him."
But Blackman shook his head. "He's not here."
"What do you mean, 'not here'?" she demanded. "Dad wouldn't leave Dr. Quest if he was ill!"
Suddenly, from behind Blackman, Jessie saw Stan Knight appear. "He's with your mother, Jessica," he replied quietly.
All the color drained from Jessie's face. "What's wrong with Mom?"
"She was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland this evening. She's having problems . . ."
"The baby?" Jessie asked with a sinking feeling. Stan nodded. "What does Dr. Mason say?"
"She's suffering from pregnancy-induced hypertension . . . toxemia. She was bedridden, but they'd had it under control . . . until tonight. We don't know her status yet. We're still waiting to hear."
"Why the hell didn't they tell me?" Jessie demanded angrily.
"Why haven't you told them what's been going on in your life?" Stan countered evenly. "Why did your mother have to ask me how you and Jon are doing and if you are happy? And why did your parents have to find out that the four of you were in India by tracing airline arrival and departure records?"
Jessie's lips thinned in anger, but with an effort she controlled her temper. "All right, listen. We'll get Jon and Hadji home just as quickly as we can, but we have to find them first and that may take some time." Her eyes flicked up to her companions. "Jade, I need that plane. Something we can do a parachute drop out of. And it needs to meet us in Delhi."
"When?"
"By nightfall. I'll leave it to you to arrange the meeting location." Jade nodded and turned to speak quietly to their host as Jessie looked back at the images of the men on the vid-phone once more. "In the meantime, I need for you to give my father a message. Tell him . . ." She hesitated, and suddenly she almost seemed to sag as though the weight of the world had descended onto her shoulders. "Tell him that Kefira's parents are dead . . . murdered by the man trying to engineer the coup in Bangalore. Tell him that her younger brother and sister managed to escape and that Rajeev's last request was that Dr. Quest provide shelter for them. They aren't safe here. So before we leave for Bangalore, we'll see that they're safely on a plane for Maine with someone that I know my father trusts. This person will bring Maia and Srinivasan directly to him there at the Compound. Tell him that he is likely to hear rumors that Hadji and Kefira are married, that those rumors are true, and that if he is asked by anyone . . . Admiral Bennett, the Indian ambassador, reporters . . . he is to tell them so in no uncertain terms. He's not to be afraid to broadcast the news openly."
"Details would help," Blackman said quietly, jotting notes on a pad of paper in front of him.
Jessie's gaze flicked up to Kefira. "We were married on October 19th at 9:00 p.m. in New York City by the Honorable Justice Steven Eversol," Kefira replied quietly and without hesitation. "And we exchanged our Vows of Faith in the presence of family on October 20th at 4:30 p.m., permanently sealing the union per Hindu custom."
Blackman nodded without looking up. "What else?"
"Tell him that if he has any connections with the government that he can use to bring pressure to bear on Bangalore, it would help a lot."
Blackman's gaze sharpened. "What kind of pressure?"
"Anything. I need the man behind the coup in Bangalore to have his hands full."
Blackman smiled coldly. "I'll tell your father, but I believe I can help you with this issue myself. Between the two of us, we'll turn up the heat. Anything else?"
"Tell him . . ." And then she faltered. After a moment, she continued slowly, "Tell him that I'm sorry for everything that's happened and that I love him and mom very much. And tell him that I'll do my best to make him proud of me."
Blackman shook his head and said quietly, "You don't need to worry about that, Jessica. They already are . . . extremely proud of you. Just find Jon and bring him home so he has the chance to make peace with his father. From everything I've been told, the circumstances that caused the rift between the two were a direct result of the illness Dr. Quest is suffering from. They both deserve the chance to clear the air and start over. You all do."
After a moment, Jessie nodded. "Don't worry. I'll get him there," she replied in a determined voice. "One way or the other."
