Zorren found the squat stone building that he had been using as a temporary base for his hunting for the last several months of his exile. As soon as he walked in, he felt the blessed cooling of the recycled air and smelled the fresh scent of jasmine that had been a recent change to his hunting home. He set his gun down on the rack just inside the door and gave a groan as a pair of sleek arms wrapped around his waist from behind and grabbed a handful of the bulge in his pants.
“I love how the hunt makes you so aroused,” the woman’s voice behind him purred, while she used her free hand to expertly unhook his dark green hunting coat that helped him blend in to the local vegetation.
He had greatly enjoyed Tessa’s company since she had shown up on Vega Prime last week, and had even allowed her to follow him out to this forsaken nearby jungle moon for his last two hunts so she could be an outlet for the excitement he usually got himself into after a kill. Today, that enthusiasm had been hampered by his disappointing hunt, but also the eagerness for different pursuit entirely.
“Any news from the College?” he checked his voice so he didn’t sound too eager .
“Yes,” the woman let out a huff like she was displease at the dismissal tone in his voice, but she drew her hands away, stepped away from his back, and sauntered over to seating area at the center of the room, making it clear with the swaying of her backside that Zorren really should reconsider what she was offering.
He had sampled what she offered. Many times, in fact, over the last week, and had dalliances with her while he was at the Palace. She wasn’t the best he ever had, but she would do––for now. But right in this moment, Zorren was far more interested in the information she possessed, than her sexual prowess.
“And?” Zorren growled, letting her know with that one word that she better not test his patience.
She sat down, frowned like she didn’t like that he was dismissing her sexual talents outright, but continued just the same. “None of the three you flagged as possible matches for your brother responded like you’d hoped. They just stood there looking alarmed and completely out of their element, at least according to my source.”
Zorren sat down on a chair across from the woman, clearly ignoring her body language for him to come sit next to her on the two seated davenport she occupied. “That’s unfortunately, but it doesn’t mean he’s not one of them. He could just be that good. He is a Zahn after all.”
The woman shrugged. “Or Kaller’s people singled out the wrong individuals? How sure are you that he’s even hiding among the new Cadet class?” She narrowed her eyes as she questioned his deduction of where he believed Adar had gone after his abduction.
He did not like the way that made him feel. Half of him wanted to get up and slap the woman, but he remained where he was. There was a time and place for violence, and right now, she would be more cooperative if he let her slight go.
“Because it’s no coincidence that Initiation Day happened the same day as my brother’s abduction at the Hall of Renowned. I think it was planned that way to have a place to hide my brother, while Nador attempted to throw us all off by getting himself captured.”
“But that leaves the Heir vulnerable with no protection.”
Zorren threw the woman a deadly look. She knew better than to call his brother that. Her face paled and she lowered her eyes realizing her mistake. “Forgive me, Highness. Kaller’s men keep calling him that, and it just slipped out. It won’t happen again.”
The man glared at her pointedly for another good long moment before letting it go. He shook his head as he answered her question. “The new identity is his protection. As long as he plays like he’s someone else, no one will have a reason to suspect him. Besides, most people wouldn’t think to even look for an Imperial Prince in their ranks.”
“But wouldn’t those in command of the College figure that out too?”
Zorren snorted. “Not necessarily. From what you have told me, they are in panic mode because they lost one of the Emperor’s sons. They probably aren’t thinking straight right now, and while I have known several people who have come out of the Protectorate to be exceptional thinkers, most of them tend to rely more on their brawn than their brains, including those in charge of the College.
“I very much doubt anyone in the Protectorate has a clue where my brother is, and that works in our favor. While they’re mucking it up, we can figure out which Cadet my brother is using as a cover and get to him before they are any the wiser.”
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“And what about Nador? Kaller’s people are still waiting on word about going in to question him. He could give you the exact identity of the person your brother is using, instead of us expending all our resources in trying to get your brother to give himself away. I told them to hold for now.”
Zorren considered her words. He had heard about Nador’s capture only hours after he abducted Adar. He knew Markus well, and very much doubted the man had allowed anyone to capture him unless he had wanted to be.
“Markus will never talk, not to those at the College or to our people. I suspect he wants someone to come ask him questions, so he can ask questions of his own.”
“You think he set it up as a trap?” Tessa said incredulously.
Zorren nodded. “I do, but if we let him be, he will become a problem very quickly once we make our move against my brother. We do not know what other plans he might have or what people at the College he has helping him. Our best option is to eliminate him as soon as possible. Give the order.”
Tessa visibly swallowed like the idea was distasteful, and she hesitated like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it, and simply nodded. “And what of the three Cadets?”
Zorren considered her question for a moment glad that Tessa hadn’t argued with him about killing a king’s son. She was probably thinking it. It was probably even the reason she had hesitated, but she had let it pass. Good. Maybe he’d keep her around a little longer after this mess with his brother was over. Maybe.
He took a moment to mull over his options. He could, naturally, just order all three of the Cadets killed, but he knew he could only push Kaller’s people so far. Killing Nador wouldn’t be a huge concession for them. Markus Nador had never truly been one of them at the College. Zorren had heard that quite a lot of people in the Protectorate still had hard feelings against him for having the nerve to enroll in the Program at all.
Kaller’s men, however, might balk at killing a king’s son. But there was only one way to find out, and if they did do as Zorren told them, then Zorren would finally be rid of an individual who had caused him a lot of unpleasantness over the years. And if they didn’t, then it would just leave the man for Zorren to hunt down himself sometime in the future, which was quite an agreeable thing to think about actually. At the very least, an attack on Nador would distract him, while Kaller’s people zeroed in on Adar.
The real question was whether or not to let Kaller’s men take his brother out, or for Zorren to do it himself. At first, Zorren had considered keeping his hands as clean as possible, but then once his grand plan was set in motion, it really wouldn’t matter how clean his hands were. What mattered was fast action, and considering the years of humiliation and hardship Zorren had to suffer because of his youngest brother, the thought of anyone else having the pleasure of killing Adar, did not sit well with him.
Of course, there would be the issue of the Emperor to worry about once his brother was dead. His father would most certainly take what little dignity Zorren had left. He might even be angry enough to end Zorren’s life. But that sort of thing didn’t worry him as much as it used to, because now Zorren had his own plans for the future that didn’t involve his father.
It had started as a possible idea as he long awaited for the Emperor to change his mind and give Zorren back the title of Ascendant, but after his banishment, Zorren had committed fully to the plan. The first step––permanently removing his youngest brother. It would be the catalyst for great change in the Empire. Great change indeed. And that thought made the man smile as he envisioned it.
A soft sound from across from him reminding Zorren of where he was and that he had been in the middle of an important conversation. His quickly considered her question of what to do about the three Cadets.
“Use the next special assignment to draw them out and get them away from everyone else. Tell Kaller’s men that they need to create situations where they can get a good look at the men’s right shoulders. An identity modifier can’t hide a family crest brand, and I know from my sources that my brother received his mark on his trip back to Dyniss.”
Tessa nodded. “Then I will see if our contact in the command structure can make some changes. Their next assignment is to clear debris from the Hall of the Renowned. That’s not going to give good opportunities for three body searches.”
No it wouldn’t. The fact was the College was too busy with too much going on, even if Zorren had someone trail each person to try and find a time to get them alone, it might take days. The Protectorate did what they could to completely dominate each of the Cadets waking moments, and even in the non-waking, they were all crowded together inside barracks.
“Suggest a desert assignment then. It should be much easier from there to get them alone. I hear anything can happen in the desert, and the wildlife on Sora X are particularly aggressive,” Zorren finished with a grin as he thought of the possibilities.
“And you are sure about Kenri Wesz, Otti Cedi, and Jasper Ruloc, the three you identified as possibility being your brother?”
Zorren nodded. After he had figured out the likely place his brother was hiding, the Prince had spent a sleepless night combing through the records of all the newest Cadets of the Protectorate Program. He could have had the terminal do the work for him, but this was a hunt and Zorren treated it with the sacredness that it deserved by doing as much of the chase himself as he could.
Out of the one thousand and two hundred and thirty-five new Cadets, only three were his brother’s exact height and build. That’s the thing about identity modifiers, which Zorren was certain Adar was using, they could only change facial features and eye color, they couldn’t change your entire body. If you knew what to look for, you could easily pick out the person you are searching for.
All three had fit his brother’s physique perfectly. Now it was down to narrowing it to which one was actually his brother. The test at the bunker had been a failure, even having each of them followed right after the bunker assignment had not produced anything conclusive, so now they had to take things to the next level.
Zorren smiled. “Oh, he’s one of them. I’m sure of it.”