Amaria shot up and left the hearing room.
“I was assigned to work within the military diplomatic corps. I kept my superior, Colonel Julia Gerocie, informed every step of the way or shortly after a significant event, such as the break-in of my flat by members of the wizard corps where my landlady was threatened. She should be asked if she knows of my withholding anything.”
“We will save that for your trial, captain. “You said you were forced to reveal where the copy of the Gussellian emperor’s string book was hidden?”
“I was. I was threatened by harm to my landlady. The book was hidden to keep it safe. My office doesn’t have a lock on the door.”
“But you used magical means to seal your office?”
“Whoever burglarized my office defeated the lock with magic. They knew where the copy was kept.”
“Would you have surrendered the string book, if asked?”
“Not to a subordinate officer without any orders. I’ve been working in a different chain of command for nearly a year,” Quint said. “I would have complied with any orders from my chain of command. I’ve not withheld evidence from my chain of command.”
“This is irregular,” the colonel said.
A tall, thin man barged into the room. “He is guilty and should be executed. End of hearing.”
“General Baltacco,” the colonel said as everyone in the room stood including Quint. Amaria stepped back into the room.
“I’ve read the evidence. It is ridiculous to think Tirolo wouldn’t speak willot. I reject his reason,” Baltacco said.
“You wish to override the matters of this hearing?” the colonel asked.
“I do and who will stop me?”
“I will, General Baltacco,” General Obellia said, walking in followed by Henricco Lucheccia, the foreign minister, and Colonel Gerocie. “What is going on here? One of my soldiers has been abducted, and I just heard you condemn him to death.”
Baltacco frowned. “It is a matter of speech. Of course I want justice to be served.”
“When is the trial scheduled?” Obellia asked.
“After the hearing,” the lead interrogator said.
“Without notifying me, without notifying his commanding officer, and without a reasonable consideration of the evidence,” General Obellia said.
“I will be putting Captain Tirolo under house arrest in my building until these matters are resolved. What are the charges?” General Obellia asked the lead colonel.
“Three counts of withholding evidence to his superior officer, a count of using Racellian property for his own benefit and a count of a non-willot speaking in the mother tongue.”
“Ridiculous. Even I know about the captain’s facility for understanding willot. He has never, to my knowledge ever spoken a word, although he uses his knowledge to conduct valuable research on our foreign enemies, some of whom speak willot exclusively. As for withholding evidence, you had better clear those charges through Colonel Gerocie. She tells me that Captain Tirolo has been scrupulous. Scrupulous is the exact word that she said, about keeping her informed. He writes daily reports about his activities. Do any of you?” General Obellia looked around the room. “Even I know about the dictator’s string book. I was notified that Captain Tirolo forwarded the original to Colleto soon after he returned to Bocarre. He would have been irresponsible if he hadn’t made a copy, and he wasn’t commanded to do so. That is not in violation of any order.”
Baltacco turned red in the face. “Amaria, I will talk to you later.”
Quint thought blaming his daughter on everything was shameless. Her reports required complicity on his part, but Baltacco wasn’t going to bring that up to anyone.
“Restriction to your unit is acceptable until charges are formalized, and a thorough investigation is conducted.” Baltacco made a military about face and left the room.
Obellia turned to Quint. “Colonel Gerocie will escort you back to the diplomacy corps offices where we will determine where you will be staying for the near future.”
Gerocie led Quint out of the room, but not before Quint gave a nod to his old officer in the strategic operations division.
Chapter Twenty-Seve
n
“I’m sorry it’s come to this, ma’am,” Quint said as they entered Gerocie’s office. The colonel had advised silence on their return trip.
“We have a suite for dignitaries on the fourth floor. You may use that for now,” she said. “What happened yesterday?”
Quint told her about the wizard corps soldiers barging into Danko’s office and didn’t forget to mention the orderly who helped them.
“Amaria was there for all of it?”
Quint nodded. “She was directing the activities and remained behind to catch me. She even spoke willot to me, which I didn’t reply, since I truly don’t know much about the pronunciation.”
“Is there anything else that could come up? They will be searching for everything.”
Quint shrugged. “That is it. I’m sure Amaria is thinking about what evidence she can fake. Her father…”
‘Don’t talk about her father, even between the two of us,” Gerocie said. “If it wasn’t for Colonel Sarrefo, we wouldn’t have known. You have at least one willot supporter in the wizard corps.” Gerocie went to a window and looked at the council palace. “I’ll talk to the general about what to do. There isn’t much support for hubites in that building,” she pointed a finger at the council headquarters across the grounds.
“Can I get a bag of my things and return, ma’am?” Quint asked.
