Noble Lies

by Gary Inbinder

Chapter 13
Chapter 14, part 2
Chapter 15
appear in this issue.

Chapter 14

part 1 of 2

Ludwig lay in bed, his eyes fixed on the shadowy ceiling; Berenice slept by his side. She had programmed the sound system to replicate a pleasant, sleep-inducing evening ambiance: gentle breezes rustling leaves; surf, breaking softly on the shoreline; the hushed chirruping of crickets in the tall grass.

Among these sounds, Ludwig distinguished a barely audible voice, calling him. Thinking it was Berenice, murmuring in her sleep, he turned to her. Her lips didn’t move, yet he continued hearing the faint words. Concentrating, he felt a burning sensation in his chest; the sound grew more distinct, and the heat intensified; Ludwig thought, Aurelia, where are you?

For an instant, the bedroom filled with green-gold light. Berenice awoke with a start; the light was gone. Turning to her left, she saw Ludwig, with his back to her, sleeping on his side. Moving closer, she held him in her arms, and went back to sleep.

Ludwig teleported to Aurelia’s cell; she knelt in a corner, with her eyes closed. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and whispered, “Luddy, is that you?”

Aurelia’s miserable condition shocked Ludwig. “Aurelia, what have they done to you, and why are you here? I just left you; you’re sleeping in bed with me.”

“Father tricked you,” she replied. “He transformed Berenice into a replication of me, so identical you couldn’t tell the difference. She even shares my memories. That last night at Cato’s villa, Zack and Charmaine captured me, and Berenice took my place in bed.”

“I know about Charmaine; I destroyed her. She was your father’s agent, and he sent her to kill Slim and Dax before they could make contact with Cato. Slim and Dax escaped, but your father intercepted me. I failed, Aurelia; he’s too strong.”

Aurelia’s eyes blazed; she threw a slap at Ludwig that passed through his face. “You’re lucky you’re a hologram. What’s wrong with you, Luddy? Slim and Dax may already be in contact with Cato. Together we can beat father.”

For a moment, stunned and silent, Ludwig stared at her. Recovering his composure, he said, “I’m sorry, Aurelia. I fought your father twice, and both times he won. As for Berenice, I was convinced that she was you, drugged and programmed. There’s something else; she’s carrying our child.”

“Yeah, right,” Aurelia said, scornfully. “I heard that from father; I’ll believe it, when her belly swells.”

Aurelia’s courage and fortitude made Ludwig ashamed of his own weakness. “Now,” he confidently declared, “everything is different: there’s hope, and I have a plan.”

Smiling, Aurelia said, “That’s better; and here’s something else you need to know; father has the Aureus, your sword and the robe locked in a cedar chest, in his study.”

“That’s good,” he replied. “Don’t worry, Aurelia, I’ll have you out of here, soon. I’d better get back to Berenice, now, before she wakes up and becomes suspicious.” Seeing Aurelia frown, he added, “One more thing; when I materialize, whatever you do, don’t slug me. Save it for Daddy.”

Ludwig returned to his bedroom where Berenice slept peacefully by his temporary doppelganger’s side. His next step would be an experiment in space-time travel. Concentrating on the time and space coordinates where he last saw Slim and Dax, Ludwig teleported back to the hover car just as it was streaking over the mountains and away from the hilltop cabin.

“Venus and Mars, Luddy,” Dax exclaimed, as Ludwig appeared in the back seat of the hover car. “You scared the beer out of me; what’s going on?”

“I don’t have much time to explain,” Ludwig replied. “We need to plan quickly, before Finn tracks me down.”

Slim said, “We’re with you, Luddy. What do you want us to do?”

“Aurelia’s being held in a second level sub-basement of Finn’s building, and we’re going to get her out. Slim, I need one of your specialties. Do you think you can jigger Finn’s security and surveillance system?”

“Can do, Luddy. How much time do you think you’ll need?”

“One half-hour at the most, Slim.”

“No problem, but I’ll need about seventy-two hours to set things up, and coordinate.”

“How about forty-eight hours?”

“Ok, Luddy,” Slim replied, “but that’s pushing it.”

“Thanks, Slim. Where are you headed?”

“A Cato safe house; we’re meeting with his agents.”

“Give me the location co-ordinates; I’ll contact you there, at 0300 hours, two days from today.”

Slim responded with the location, and then added, “Alright, Luddy, but tell me...”

Dax interjected, “He’s gone, Slim.”

Two days later, Ludwig teleported to the safe house, on time. Slim confirmed their plan was on schedule for 0430, about one hour before dawn that morning. Slim also provided Ludwig with a syringe, containing a potent drug.

After he left the safe house, Ludwig appeared in Aurelia’s cell, woke her up, and said, “Be quiet, and listen; I’m coming for you in one hour. I’ll fill you in on details later.” Smiling at Aurelia, he vanished and then re-materialized in bed next to Berenice, who still slept soundly.

At 0429, Ludwig injected the slumbering Berenice with the drug he’d obtained from Slim; she’d be out for at least an hour. Next, he teleported to Aurelia’s cell. After confirming Slim’s deactivation of the computer controlled lock and alarm, he materialized and entered the chamber. Ludwig ran to Aurelia, who was sleeping in a corner of her cell. He took her into his arms, and whispered, “We have a half an hour, at most. Slim rigged the security and surveillance systems; everything’s down.”

Aurelia took a moment to come to her senses, and then asked, “What about father and Berenice?”

“Berenice is out cold,” Ludwig replied. “I drugged her. I’ll handle your father. You have a clear route out; take the elevator to the main floor lobby and exit through the garden, across the lawn and out the back gate. Two hundred yards down the hill, you’ll see Slim and Dax in a hover-car parked near an overpass on the northwest corner of Capitol Hill Boulevard, near the south side Memorial Park entrance. Wait until 0500. If I’m not there by then, get moving.”

“Sorry, Luddy; I’m staying with you. We’ll take on father. together.”

Ludwig grabbed her shoulders, and snapped, “I’m giving the orders, Colonel. Get out of here, now. You can court-martial me later.”

Aurelia stared at him for a moment, and then kissed him softly, replying, “Alright, Luddy; I’ll see you soon.” Aurelia left the cell, and ran down the corridor. Ludwig watched her until she entered the elevator, and then he teleported to Finn’s study.

Once in the study, Ludwig immediately went to the chest holding his sword, robe and the Aureus; finding the cedar chest locked by a device separated from the main security system, he searched Finn’s desk, looking for an electronic key, while keeping his eye on the time.

After several minutes of futile rummaging, he attempted a telekinetic experiment. Concentrating on the Aureus, the sword and the robe, he tried teleporting them out of the chest.

The room glowed with dazzling, aureate light as it filled with Ludwig’s mental energy. Ludwig winced and clenched his jaw as his cicatrice blazed fiery red. Tears streamed from his eyes as he beheld the sign of the oak leaf wreath encircling the crossed spears, cup and the bird, hovering directly above him.

A painfully loud noise, like the blasting and rumbling of a thousand nearby bugles and drums, assaulted his ears; his arms shot upward, his palms opened and fingers extended, as if reaching for the symbol. At that moment, the sword flew into his right hand, the robe adorned him, the belt girded his waist, and the Aureus returned, hanging from a golden chain around his neck.

Instantly, the light vanished, the room grew silent, and the angry, dark shadow of the Consul took shape, materializing in the study’s doorway.

Ludwig saw the Consul raise his right arm; without a moment’s hesitation, Ludwig attacked with his sword, cutting Finn across the forearm and chest. Finn shrieked, as hot, red blood sprayed from his wounds. Immediately, Ludwig aimed a deathblow at the Consul’s heart, driving the sword home with incredible force. The Consul disappeared just as the thrusting blade broke his skin; Ludwig’s momentum carried him forward, ramming his sword-point through the heavy oak door.

Ludwig retrieved and sheathed his sword and then noticed the time on the mantle-clock; it was 0459. He teleported and materialized in the hover car, in time to hear Aurelia demand that they wait five minutes longer.

Dax jumped, banging his head on the car roof as Ludwig appeared next to him in the back seat. “Damn, Luddy,” Dax exclaimed, “I think I just brown-stained my pants.”

Slim and Aurelia turned around, smiling at Dax’s remark. Slim laughed and said, “Luddy, you’ve got to stop scaring poor Dax.” Starting the hover car, he added, “Okay, folks, we’re out of here.”

They took off, flying down the coastline, just as the bright golden orange sun rose on the horizon, and the dormant surveillance cameras, alarm system, security locks and robots at the Finn penthouse reactivated.

* * *

That evening, Zack sat glumly on a couch in Finn’s garden, watching Berenice massaging the Consul’s neck and shoulders, relieving the pain of his dressed wounds.

Finn looked at Zack, smiled, and wryly asked, “Well, General, do you think we’ve achieved a level of total FUBAR?”

Zack remained silent, looking down at his hands as he aimlessly fumbled with the folds of his equestrian toga.

Berenice finished massaging the Consul, and then knelt at his feet, gazing up at him with emerald eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, come now, my friends, it isn’t as bad as all that.” Clapping his hands, Finn called for wine, and then added, “You are both blameless. I underestimated Ludwig and Aurelia, not to mention Cato. We’re now dealing with Ludovicus Maximus and his Empress incarnate. Nevertheless, we still hold some trumps.”

Proceed to Chapter 14, part 2...