The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [135]
“Do I?” He looked like a total stranger to her. “We will take care of this today. Now.”
Cain protested, drawing Basil’s jazer stare away from Sarein. “Mr. Chairman, you have produced no evidence for these unlikely assertions.”
Basil actually seemed relieved. “I have all the proof I need, Deputy Cain.”
Sarein could see, as clearly as she had ever understood anything, that Basil meant to blame one of the three of them. He would not let anyone leave the room until he was satisfied.
She knew that she would buckle if Basil subjected her to direct interrogation — but she held on to the very slim hope that he would give her the benefit of the doubt because of his past feelings. She remembered how he had once been. He must still have at least a glimmer of affection for her.
On the other hand, Cain and McCammon might well face execution. He hadn’t required much of an excuse to murder the eighteen alleged conspirators in the public square.
Maybe if she confessed, though, Basil would just exile her back to Theroc — which was what she really wanted anyway. It seemed to her that it was the only way out of this mess, a single chance to save the other two.
Sarein drew a breath and opened her mouth, ready to blurt that she was the one — the only one — responsible, when McCammon, after a brief glance at her, snapped, “It was me. I let the King and Queen escape.”
“He’s lying!” Sarein cried.
“Captain McCammon, do not speak another word,” Cain said. “Do not give in to unnecessary inappropriate pressure.”
“I am not lying, and I will not stop.” McCammon clearly realized that he needed to pull all of the blame upon himself if there was to be any hope of helping Sarein and Cain get away. “I set up the assassination attempt at the manufacturing center. I let the King stun me so that he could escape from the Whisper Palace.” He shouted out anything he could think of. “I allowed the green priest Nahton to slip away from his detention quarters so he could warn Theroc about the imminent EDF attack.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I am the head of Freedom’s Sword.”
Standing in front of them, Basil’s expression oscillated between smug satisfaction and fury. He slowly turned and went back to stand beside Rory’s throne. “That is enough, Captain. Thank you for making this easier.”
Colonel Andez gave a short, sharp whistle, and the members of her cleanup crew lowered their firearms and touched the power switches. A barely audible hum of active rifles resonated in the large chamber.
“What have you done?” Sarein said to McCammon in a hoarse whisper. Cain had turned into a statue, clearly seeing that he could do nothing to change the Chairman’s decision, but Sarein wouldn’t give up. Appalled, she shouted, “Basil, stop this!” No one looked at her.
Coldly furious, the Chairman said to McCammon, “I would dearly love to make a true public spectacle of you, Captain — even have you drawn and quartered.” He heaved a deep breath. “But that in itself poses a problem. The alleged conspirators have already been executed, and the public is happy enough with that. There’s no need to flaunt the fact that someone close to me was a traitor. Alas, your execution will have to be swift and private. It’s better that way.”
Sarein was prepared to insist that McCammon hadn’t acted alone, but Cain grabbed her forearm and squeezed so tightly that he nearly broke her wrist. Cain cleared his throat. “Sir, Captain McCammon deserves a full trial. I must insist that you follow proper legal — ”
Basil gave a signal, and without a moment’s hesitation, before anyone could speak another word, the cleanup crew let loose a burst of weapons fire.
McCammon shuddered and jittered as dozens of high-speed hot projectiles peppered his body, splattering his fellow conspirators with gore. Sarein screamed. McCammon dropped to the floor, his body broken and shredded. Blood spread out in a thick pool, seeping into the crimson rug.
Cain could only stare.