the news as soon as possible. But it was the third message, from Benedict, that chilled me. He’d kept it short and sweet: Father plans to put you under house confinement. If you want to flee, go now.
Chapter 6
I paused just long enough to check the news, then ran for my closet. Someone had done a remarkably good job of painting me as a traitor, one who worked with House Rockhurst to betray Ferdinand and House von Hasenberg.
Even if Father didn’t believe the story—and I hoped he wouldn’t—he would be furious about my meeting with Evelyn Rockhurst. And despite my preference for electronic sleuthing, eventually I’d run into a lead I’d need to track down the old-fashioned way. I couldn’t find Ferdinand if I was locked in my suite.
My hands shook as I stood frozen in my closet. I didn’t have time for a breakdown. I shoved a change of clothes and a pair of blasters in a protective case into a tote. I strapped a stun pistol in a holster around my waist and threw on a cloak over my blouse and pants. Finally, I added my purse with the silencer still inside to the tote.
Good enough.
I headed for the door, but it did not open on my approach and the manual open button did nothing. “Alfred, open the suite door.”
After a few seconds, the suite computer responded. “Request unavailable. Your suite is locked for your safety. Please remain where you are.” The computer didn’t have emotions, but I still thought it sounded contrite.
If Ian Bishop thought I’d remain locked in my own damn suite until he could be bothered to come collect me for Father, then he was about to get a rude awakening.
I darted into my study for a pair of smart glasses. They connected to my com and displayed information hands-free. These were a high-end version that featured both hand and eye tracking, allowing me to leave my com in my pocket but still interact with it.
The glasses turned on automatically when I put them on. The standard information overlay—time, location, calendar—came up in my peripheral vision, but I swiped my hands up and the menu appeared front and center.
With no time to waste, I tapped into the House’s security system and checked on the cameras outside my suite. The video came up on the bottom half of the glasses. So far, the hallway was clear, but that would change once I overrode the lock. I’d need to move fast, because while I could take down the whole system, doing that while we were at war was unwise.
First and foremost, I needed a ship. I briefly considered stealing Polaris, the Rockhurst prototype ship, but I didn’t know if it was still space-worthy. For all I knew, the scientists had it in pieces in the hangar. And Ada would kill me if I damaged her baby. She’d grown attached to that ship.
My own ship, Aurora, was less than a year old. I’d bought it after Gregory’s death. His family had kept my previous ship when I returned to House von Hasenberg. What’s mine was his and what’s his was his.
House marriages were the best.
Luckily, I’d kept the vast majority of my money in numbered accounts he couldn’t access or I’d be broke in addition to homeless and shipless.
I shook myself out of my angry thoughts. Aurora was one of the nicest personal ships in our fleet. I could probably find and steal Ferdinand’s ship if I had to, but I wanted Aurora—Ada wasn’t the only one attached to her ship.
My ship was in the secondary House hangar. To get to it, I’d have to travel the length of the House, then either skirt around the primary hangar or go through it. The secondary hangar should be less busy, but getting there undetected would be tricky.
Stalling wouldn’t make it any easier, so I put the cameras outside my door on a two-minute loop, then unlocked my suite. I raised the hood of my cloak and took a deep breath. Leaving would make me look guilty as hell, but I couldn’t just sit around and wait for Ferdinand to turn up dead. Holding that thought close, I stepped out into the hall and locked the door behind me.
For once, my modified nanos came in handy as I monitored the security frequency. A security team was headed my way, but they were still thirty seconds out. I ducked into a dimly lit hidden passage with ten seconds to spare. Adrenaline