The Emperor's New Clothes (Royce Ree #1) Read Free Page B

chuck something at the back of Royce’s dark head. Or
wrestle him to the ground and kiss him till he couldn’t breathe.
Gritting his teeth, Les contained both impulses, and started
scanning the street.
    There was a green bin, with a Baldasshi
civic-services sign not ten meters away from him.
    How did Royce miss it?
    “There!” Les called, pointing towards
the device. Royce nodded, and increased his pace, forcing Les to
lengthen his stride. Royce approached the bin and casually flicked
open his vibra-blade. Before Les could say anything, Royce sank it
into the incinerator’s polymer shell.
    Instead of spewing gouts of superheated
plasma through the breach, the incinerator’s maintenance panel
popped open.
    Les started breathing again.
    Royce reached inside, pulled out a
nondescript black bag, and turned to Les with a grin.
    The world snapped into focus.
    “You planned this,” Les said.
    “Um…yes?” said Royce. “That’s what one
does, generally, when a heist is required.”
    “No. The Kova. You knew they were
coming to the Institute today.”
    Royce sighed, and leaned back against
the broken incinerator.
    “What do you want me to say?” he asked.
“The Kova took down most of the defenses, cut the comm lines in
case some Baldasshi guard got courageous. I just…took advantage of
it.”
    “You knew they would kill the
guards.”
    “Not until the claxon went off,” said
Royce. “Then…it was inevitable.”
    “You could have warned them.”
    “And failed the mission, sure.”
    The nonchalance took Les by surprise. It
shouldn’t have.
    Same old Royce.
    “The guards had names,” he said.
    Royce looked a bit surprised. “I expect
so.”
    “They were my kin .”
    “Professionals like us,” said Royce, a
note of censure in his voice. “Don’t buy their own cover
stories.”
    Les wanted to rip that look off his
face. “You might as well have murdered them yourself.”
    Royce’s gaze narrowed. “Now that,” he
said, “is unfair.” His eyes glittered with a decidedly unfriendly
look. “I didn’t trip the alarm. If it was just me in there, nobody
would know anything was missing. Ever.”
    It was not an idle boast. “Because you
planned for the Kova to neutralize the guards.”
    “It saved our asses,” says Royce. “I
care more about your safety than—”
    “Care? Let’s not delude ourselves, Agent
Ree. The Imperial Command in my neck obliges you to render
assistance.”
    Royce’s gaze, hot and angry up to this
point, turned cold. “You are quite right, Lord Les’Anther. A rabid
dog with that chip on it, I’d pat it on the head, feed it
kibble and take it home for the night.” Royce smiled, and the sheer
viciousness of the expression made Les want to step back.
    He held his ground, refusing to let his
gaze waver. “The Academy is just a few blocks from here. Raw
recruits, Royce, with policemen as their commanders. They have to
be warned.”
    “Don’t be stupid.” Royce’s posture
changed subtly.
    Ready to grab me if I make a run for
it.
    “You don’t think they know by now?”
asked Royce. “Hell, the hover-cab driver that dropped me off knew
the Kova were invading.”
    The drivers may have known. The rest
of Baldessh didn’t . The rest of Baldessh voted to join with the
Kova. And the Princess’s broadcast last week… she was animated,
excited. “The takeover was supposed to be peaceful. The Academy
may be expecting non-hostiles. I have a duty to—”
    “No,” said Royce. “What you have is an Imperial Command, embedded in the back of your fucking
neck.”
    Les tried to keep from snarling. “So I’m
supposed to hop on a ship, just forget the fact that they murdered people last night?”
    “Yup,” said Royce, and raised a hand to
forestall Les’s objections. “ Imperial Command. You don’t
have a choice. Neither do I. So I want you to take this bag into
the refresher of a bar two blocks from here.”
    “Some things are more important than a
damn mission,” hissed