Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

if I wasn't sure he'd take the opportunity to soak me for every credit he could, in lieu of retaining any interest in the Family businesses. We should have insisted on prenuptial arrangements, but with dear Daddy's will they had us over a barrel, and they knew it. Either way, it's my business and my money, and he's not getting any of it. I'll see him dead and rotting in the ground first."
    "Now, there's an idea," said Daniel. Stephanie looked quickly to see if he was picking up on her hint, but she could tell from his preoccupied face that he was
    just being polite, and had already moved on to something else. "Steph, after the ceremony, how much longer do we have to hang around here?"
    "Danny, we've been through this. At least two months, maybe three. Even with the little surprise we've got planned, it'll still take that long to wrest control of the factory from dear Valentine."
    "You don't need me here for that. You don't need me here at all. 1 need to get away; there's something more important I should be doing."
    "Danny…"
    "Our father is still out there, somewhere. With the Wolfe resources behind me, I can find him, I know I can."
    "Danny, our father is dead. He died in the hostile takeover of Clan Campbell.
    You saw the body. What you and I saw in the Court that time was just a Ghost Warrior: a corpse with computer implants to keep it moving and talking."
    "No! It was him. He recognized me. He's still alive, trapped in that decaying body. I have to find him, free him, one way or another."
    "Let it go, Danny! Our father, whatever state he's in now, is the past. We have to look to the future. He never cared for us, except to carry on the Family genes. I need you. I need your support, here and at Court. I can't tear down Valentine and run this Family on my own. I need you, Danny! I always have, you know that."
    "Why? So I can stand at your side and look good? Fight duels over your honor?
    Hold your hand when things get a bit rough? You've got Michel for that, or if he's not up to it, you can always hire someone. The only real battles are over politics and money, and I've never understood either of them. I have to go, Steph. Daddy needs me. No one else will help him. Most people are glad he's dead. I'm all he's got."

    "Our father is dead! How many times do I have to tell you? Get it through your thick skull; what we saw was just a Shub trick, and you fell for it!"
    "I thought you at least would believe me! You think I'm crazy, too!"
    His face went all red and puffy, and he started to cry like a child. Stephanie sighed, stepped forward, and took him into her arms. He held her tightly, his face buried in her neck.
    "I can't let him down," he said muffledly. "He never needed me for anything before. And he went and died before I could say good-bye. Before I could tell him I loved him."
    "Forget Daddy," said Stephanie. "You don't need him anymore. You've got me now."
    And she pushed him away from her a little and kissed him on the mouth with far more passion than a sister should show for a brother. Daniel put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently but firmly away from him.
    "No. This isn't right, Steph."
    "We're Wolfes, Danny. We can do whatever we want. We decide what's right."
    "Not this. Wolfes have never gone in for… this sort of thing. Even we have to follow some rules, or there'd be no point to anything. Besides, if word got out, and you know it would eventually, we'd lose all respect among the Clans. If we're too weak to control our own desires, then we're too weak to control our Family. That's what they'd think, and they'd be right. I love you, Steph, and I'll always love you—as a sister. I'll stay with you for as long as you really need me, but then I'm gone. Don't try and stop me. I love you, but he's my father."
    "Let's go," said Stephanie, not looking at him. "We have to meet with Cardinal Kassar and Half A Man before the ceremony begins."

    They all ended up in the main reception hall again. Some optimistic soul had put up colored trimmings and streamers, and servants in full formal dress were preparing a buffet of little snacks and munchie things. There were also wines and champagnes in great quantity, if not quality. Cardinal Kassar seemed to be drinking most of it. Word had quickly reached him of his troops' fate in the rebel tunnels, and though he was loudly declaring it a great success to all and sundry, it was clear he wasn't fooling anyone, not even himself. Daniel and Stephanie looked