Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

I had to access the House's original blueprints to track it down. When
    I finally opened the place up, it was inches deep in dust. And what tech there was, was so hopelessly outdated I wouldn't have been surprised to find it ran on steam. I've had to build this operation up from scratch."
    Douglas looked up from his papers for the first time. "Hold everything; who's footing the bill for all this new equipment?"
    Anne snorted. "Not you. As Head of Protocol, I have a more than generous budget. And a perfect willingness to cook the books, should it prove necessary. You get back to your homework."
    Jesamine looked over at Douglas. "How is your father, dear? How's he adjusting to retirement?"
    "Like a duck to water," said Douglas. He dropped the last of the papers into his lap, glad of an excuse for a break. "He's retired to his country estate, pulled up the drawbridge, and is happily puttering around with I his computers, playing at being the historian he always wanted to be."
    "I'll lay good money he hasn't got anything to match the state-of-the-art tech I scared up for you," said Anne, finally standing still, and looking around the room triumphantly. "Some of this stuff is so new it came here straight from the development labs. If these computers were any smarter, they'd apply to join the AIs on Shub. We can predict trends, extrapolate from late-breaking news, and out-guess any political pundits in the media. I've got information coming into this room nonstop from every civilized world in the Empire, from all the news and gossip channels, all of it flagged and bookmarked to sort out what we need to know from what we don't. And let us not forget the private and very juicy stuff trickling in from my own intelligence people. Douglas; you're going to be the wisest, sharpest, and best prepared Speaker this House has ever seen. Those poor bastards on the floor won't know what's hit them.
    Especially since I'm currently hacked into the House's own internal security and surveillance systems.
    From here we can see everything that happens in the House, as it happens."
    "Everything?" said Lewis, raising an eyebrow.
    "Well, all right, maybe not everything," Anne admitted. "There are still a few places I can't access; private boltholes like this one that aren't on the official lists. But we've got a much better overview than anyone else, and no one knows it but us. No one's going to be sneaking up on us."
    "Excuse me," said Jesamine, holding up her hand as though she was in class. "Are you saying we're using Parliament's own security systems to spy on the MPs and their people? I mean; is that legal?"
    "We work for the King," Anne said smugly. "If he says it's legal, it's legal."
    "It's legal," said Douglas.
    "As long as we don't get caught," said Anne.
    "Intrigue! Secrets! Voyeurism and potential blackmail!" said Jesamine, clapping her hands delightedly.
    "Oh darlings; I never knew politics could be such fun!"
    "As long as we don't get caught," said Lewis.
    "Party pooper," said Jesamine. "Don't be such a wet blanket, Lewis.
    We're embarking on a great adventure here! You have to get into the swing of things."
    Lewis looked at her doubtfully and tugged at his new outfit again, trying to persuade the black leather into some position where it might hang a bit more comfortably.
    "Leave it alone, Lewis," said Anne, without looking around. "It's supposed to hang like that. It's part of the image. You look very sharp. Very dramatic."
    "I look like an executioner in one of the old adventure serials," said Lewis, glaring balefully at Anne's unresponsive back. "All I need is a hood and an ax, and children would run screaming from me in the streets. And it itches. Why couldn't I have stayed with my old Paragon armor?"
    "Because you're not a Paragon anymore," Anne said patiently, finally turning around to fix Lewis with her most imposing glare. "You are the first King's Champion in two hundred years, and it's important you look the part."
    "I like it," said Jesamine. "It's very theatrical. Reminds me of one of those old S and M supervillains from the old Julian Skye shows."
    "You see!" said Lewis. "I'm going to be a laughingstock, I just know it."
    "Be quiet, all of you," said Douglas. "I still have a hell of a lot of this paperwork to get under my belt, before I'm on." He looked down at the papers in his lap, and then looked at Anne. "Why am I wading through all this shit, Anne? Can't you just prompt me as necessary, over my private comm