After completing his report about the night’s activities and the report about someone breaking down his office door and the destruction of his desk drawer, he dragged himself up to the colonel’s office.
“I’m sorry to report an incident last night, ma’am,” Quint said, putting his reports on her desk. “I also am reporting that my office was ransacked and a personal copy of Pacci Colleto’s string book was stolen. The truth is on your desk. I’m sure you will get a different version later this morning.”
Gerocie read through the reports. “Amaria Baltacco again?”
“This time she had more help. My landlady, an innocent, was tied up and threatened.”
“So, this says,” Gerocie said lifting the night’s incident report. “What am I to make of your office break-in?”
Quint shrugged. “They took my copy, ma’am. I told them I only knew a few strings; I didn’t tell the truth to them. I memorized the strings weeks ago.”
Gerocie’s eyebrows rose. “That means you can qualify for Master?”
Quint shrugged again. “I suppose so, but those spells need a lot of practice before I’d be proficient.”
“But you could pass a Master test?” she asked.
“I think I could, ma’am.”
“I must report this to General Obellia. I don’t know what his reaction will be, but I have to see him immediately. Clean up your office and wait there for more orders. Are you calm enough to concentrate on another basket of publications?”
Quint nodded. “I can do that, ma’am.” He saluted and left her office.
The office wasn’t damaged as much as Quint thought once he picked up the papers and other writing materials that were strewn about. He put the remains of his false bottom in Danko’s unfinished office.
The basket hadn’t arrived yet, so Quint went over the Colleto spells in his mind and used his hands to make the weaves for the strings, but didn’t go farther.
The basket came. There weren’t any opinion journals this time, so it didn’t take Quint long before he had nothing to do. He heard talking outside his office and observed the rest of the furniture delivered into Danko’s office.
The room had been transformed from a dingy storage space to a presentable place to work, if it wasn’t in the basement. Quint sat on the desk chair, it was identical to his own, and smiled.
He had been treated well, for a hubite, by Colonel Gerocie. Quint had no complaints.
There were more steps outside Danko’s office and the door burst open. Black uniformed soldiers from the wizard corps marched in.
“You are under arrest!” an officer said.
“For what?” Quint asked.
“For withholding valuable information from the wizard corps.”
“I’m on assignment to the Military Diplomatic Corps,” Quint said.
“Don’t say another word or it will go hard against you.”
“Does Colonel Gerocie know about my arrest?”
The officer frowned. “This action is outside her jurisdiction. Why would she need to know?”
“I report to her,” Quint said.
“Gag him first, then put on the manacles.”
Quint rose from Danko’s chair but was shoved back down. Two soldiers gagged him while others bound his hands in a framework that didn’t allow him to create strings. He was essentially defenseless as they dragged him out of the building through a side door.
The orderly who usually delivered his baskets gave him an evil grin as he opened the door for Quint’s abductors. It was useless to resist once he was outside the building and was pushed onto the floor of a waiting carriage and off he went.
Quint recognized the top of the wizard corps headquarters as they passed and turned down an alley. He was pulled out by his feet and had to tuck his chin on his chest, so his head didn’t bounce on the pavement.
His captors finally helped him up so he could descend into the wizard corps basement. He was pushed into a cell and a wizard stepped forward and put Quint to sleep.
Quint woke in darkness. He was on a thin mattress on a hard shelf. He couldn’t generate a light or a tiny flame, but he could sit up, which he did and waited.
He woke again when someone shook him.
“Time for your trial, traitor,” a familiar voice told him.
Quint opened his eyes and pursed his lips. It wasn’t a surprise that Amaria Baltacco was glaring at him. She removed his gag.
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
“How am I a traitor? My commanding officer knew all about the copy of Colleto’s strings long before you knew.”
Amaria slapped Quint’s face, something she wouldn’t dare to do if Quint was unbound.
