Rajhir
walked into the reception area of Zarl’s chambers. The Imdiko who usually greeted visitors was
away at lunch. The entrance to Zarl’s
private office was closed and certainly locked.
Rajhir’s door was open, as he’d left it.
He walked in.
Nobek Breft sat at his
desk. The youth looked up at Rajhir, who
stared at him in utter shock. He nodded
to Rajhir and plugged a file drive into the computer. “Good day, Dramok.”
Rajhir finally recovered to
splutter, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Going through your stuff.” Breft’s tone was as casual as if they were
having polite conversation. “You’ve got
some interesting items here, from what I’ve been looking at. The kinds of things you’d have to be crazy to
leave unattended.”
Rajhir could only stand there
and stare. Was the man insane?
Breft kept on talking as he
leaned back in Rajhir’s chair and stared up at him. “Do you know how easy it is to get on this
floor when the Imperial Clan is not present?
All I had to do to come in here was tell the Royal Guards I had an
appointment with you, submit to a weapons scan and background check, and here I
am. I know those guys are badasses and
can handle just about any emergency, but frankly, I’m appalled. You should tell Emperor Zarl to rethink his
open-door policy. There’s accessibility
to his subjects and then there’s madness.”
Breft kept right on talking,
pummeling Rajhir with his thoughts.
“Then there’s you. Your office
door was unlocked, you know. I walked
right in here and plundered without any trouble at all. I didn’t even try to hide what I was doing.”
Rajhir finally found his voice,
though his shock held him still when he should have been kicking the Nobek’s
ass. “You nasty little bastard. I should have you arrested!”
Breft shook his head, acting as
if Rajhir hadn’t spoken. “Dramok Rajhir,
chief aide to the emperor. Yet you’ve
got all this stuff, all these records lying around on your desk. Anyone can get in to see what you’re working
on, including a Nobek still in training camp.
This is remarkable.”
Rajhir slammed his hands down on
his desk and glared at Breft. “What the
fuck is wrong with you?”
Breft jumped to his feet and
slammed his palms on the desk as well.
He leaned across until he was nose to nose with Rajhir. “What the fuck is wrong with you?
All this information is just lying around!”
Rajhir scowled. “None of it is deemed confidential, you
thug. That stuff is locked up tight.”
“Then what’s the big deal with
me poking in it?”
“Because it’s not proper behavior!”
Rajhir shouted.
There was a dinging sound from
the computer, and the vid hovering above it shivered. Breft looked down at what was displayed
before returning his attention to Rajhir.
“Tell me something. Does Emperor
Zarl or Councilman Muzej want anyone in the public to know about the recent
security breach in the Dal mines?
Because it says right here that they don’t, at least not until the issue
is fixed. Yet here I am, a member of the
public, reading all about it.”
Rajhir had had his fill. He stormed around the desk, shoving Breft out
of the way without bothering to worry over how a Nobek trained to kill with his
bare hands would take such force. Rajhir
snatched the file out of the computer and the vid blinked off.
He rounded on Breft. “You foul shit. How dare you!
The Royal Guards are only steps away, you know.”
The Nobek gave him bored
eyes. “Yet I wandered in here without
any real challenge. I guess the emperor
trusts his aide to keep things secure and his secrets private. Has he misplaced that trust?”
Rajhir felt worry worm into his
gut. “Are you here to blackmail me?”
