Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

apartment, and they smashed the door open and rushed into the apartment. Finn sighed quietly. It was a pity, but if Stuart couldn't be trusted to carry out orders anymore, then he couldn't be trusted at all. He'd made himself into a liability.
    It didn't take the guards long to overpower Stuart and drag him out into the corridor. He was kicking and struggling, but he didn't have much strength left after his extended fast. He saw Finn watching, and started to curse him. The guards shut him up with brutal efficiency. Finn waited until he was sure Stuart was listening and paying attention, and then he addressed the officer in charge.
    "Take him to the nearest lockup, and hold him there until I send word. No one's to know he's there. And remember to search him very thoroughly for concealed weapons. He was a Paragon once, after all."
    "Du Bois won't stand for this," said Stuart, spitting blood out of his broken mouth.
    "The honorable member for Virimonde is no longer gracing us with his company," said Finn. "He left Logres yesterday, under an assumed identity. It seems he was rather upset over what happened to the late Clan Deathstalker. Who would have thought it? Either way, he's gone home and gone to ground, on Virimonde. The planetary council there was uncommonly rude to me the last time I spoke to them.
    Actually threatened to go rogue, like Mistworld. But of course it won't come to that. Either they agree to roll over and play dead, like a good little puppy dog, or I'll have the transmutation engines turn their whole world and everything on it into something more useful."
    Stuart tried to lunge at Finn, but the guards held him firmly.
    "The people, bless their black vindictive little hearts, need to see a Paragon brought to trial," Finn said cheerfully. "So I think we'll give them you." He looked again at the officer in charge. "Better see that he's kept well-drugged. We don't want him hurting himself before he comes to trial. And by the time you do come to trial, Stuart, the drugs will have wiped your mind of anything unpleasant you might have said against me. Trust me; you'll feel so much better. Good-bye, Stuart. I'll probably be too busy to attend your trial; but I promise I'll do my best to be there for your execution."
    He nodded to the guards, and they dragged Stuart Lennox away. Finn was already thinking about something else.
    The Paragon Emma Steel decided she couldn't afford to wait any longer to put the boot into Finn bloody Durandal. He was King now, which meant there was no one but her left to oppose him. She could already see the signs of a major clampdown against all dissenting voices moving into place. There was nothing and no one left to stop Finn from moving against anyone he saw as an enemy. Or even a potential enemy. He had to be shut down now, before he could consolidate his power. Emma said as much to Nina Malapert, while striding up and down the young reporter's living room like a caged animal.
    "We can't just go public, even with all the evidence we've amassed," said Emma, scowling fiercely. "The King's never been more popular, mostly because the people don't know the real him, and the reputation of the other Paragons has affected the way people look at me. Like I'm guilty until proven innocent. We need someone the public still trusts, to back us up. Someone people will believe when they vouch for the authenticity of our evidence. If we can just get enough people listening and talking, Finn's own supporters will turn against him, to save their own necks."
    "But there's no one left!" said Nina, sitting curled up in a big chair with her knees hugged to her chest.
    Her eyes were very large. "The public doesn't trust anyone, lovey; not after what happened with Lewis and Jesamine, and now Douglas. Wasn't that awful? Do you really think he murdered his own brother?"
    "Not without a good reason. Look, there might be one person left we can trust." Emma stopped herself in mid stride, and looked earnestly at Nina. "I think I've come up with one person who might still be interested in the truth, and be in a position to do something about it. But just in case I'm wrong… I've written it all out for you. On paper, so no one can find it in your files. Read it after I'm gone, and if I don't come back… you'll have to decide what to do next."
    Nina uncurled in a moment and launched herself up out of her chair, and glared at Emma. "Oh, no, you don't, Emma Steel! Where you go, I go! We're partners. You just