Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

are possible, given enough time and planning,” said BB Chojiro. “They still think in terms of open warfare and the clash of armies. The gun and the sword and the simple joys of slaughter. They are as yet unexperienced in the more subtle forms of conflict. And they are, after all, so much more… reachable now than they were before.”
    “They won the war against the Families,” said Stephanie. “You lost. Remember?”
    “We lost a battle,” said BB. “The war continues, in other ways.” “Still, better watch your ass, Cardinal,”
    said Stephanie. “Side too openly with Blue Block, or raise the ire of one of our great rebel heroes, and Saint Bea will throw you right out of the Church, just like all the others.” “Nothing will happen to our most loyal Cardinal,” said BB. “Reports will be misfiled, paperwork lost, rumors misdirected. Mother Beatrice hears what we wish her to hear.”
    “You wouldn’t be the first person to underestimate Saint Bea,” said Stephanie.
    “And most of those who did are dead, or wish they were.” “She can’t live forever,” said Brendan. “And if she was to die suddenly, unexpectedly, the new Church would be thrown into utter chaos. Just the kind of situation that Blue Block has always best profited from. And the remnants of the old order, the Brotherhood of Steel, is still out there, though officially suppressed, just waiting for a chance to take control of the Church again. You’d be surprised how many of today’s movers and shakers bow down to the Brotherhood in private.”
    “And Blue Block controls the Brotherhood of Steel,” said BB Chojiro. “Saint Bea may have won the populace’s heart for the moment, but they’re a fickle breed. They can always change their mind. Or have it changed for them.”
    “And then Blue Block will run the Church as well as Parliament,” said Brendan. “You don’t own Parliament yet,” said Stephanie. “In fact, they show distressing signs of developing a will of their own.”
    “It’s only a matter of time,” said BB calmly. “Now, why don’t the two of you find something not too
    incriminating to talk about, while I take care of some personal business?”
    She left them standing together, trading mutually suspicious looks, and made her way gracefully through the crowd to stand before Julian Skye. He saw her coming, and made as though to walk away, but in the end he stood his ground and waited for her. She stopped just out of arm’s reach and smiled up at him.
    Julian nodded curtly, his face impassive.
    “Hello, Julian,” said BB in her sweetest voice. “It’s been a long time since I last saw you. You’re looking good.”
    This last was a polite lie, and both of them knew it. Julian had never really recovered from the horrid injuries he suffered in the interrogation cells. The late Giles Deathstalker had worked something of a miracle cure in him on the nightmare world of Haceldama, but it didn’t last. Julian Skye hung on to what remained of his health through grim determination, and it showed. “Hello, BB,” he said finally. “You look beautiful as always. Betrayed anyone interesting recently?”
    BB shook her head. “You never did understand me, Julian. I had no choice. The moment you told me you were a rebel, my feelings for you were swept aside and my conditioning took over. I couldn’t even warn you they were coming. I cried afterward.”
    “Yes,” said Julian. “And then you came to me in the interrogation cells to talk me into betraying my friends and my colleagues. You said I was scum, the lowest of the low. And then you walked away and left me to the torturers. And all the time I was screaming, I thought of you.”
    “I had to say what I did. Others were listening.”
    “What do you want, BB?” said Julian harshly.
    “I wanted… to see if we could still talk to each other. I have missed you so much, Julian. Blue Block is my life and my purpose, but nothing ever touched my heart like you. A part of me died the day they took you away, and I want it back. I want things to be the way they used to be again.” “You must think I’m mad! I know about Blue Block now. I know about you. You’d do anything, say anything, to serve your precious higher cause. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. You mean nothing to me anymore, BB. I cut you out of my heart, one inch at a time. It hurt like hell, but I felt so much better once you were gone.”
    “Don’t. Please,