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to go to the IN for help?
    Roc shrugged. “Do you still have the message before last?”
    “Yes.” He had all the messages memorized.
    “Tell me what it said again.”
    “Benson overheard his fellow valet telling someone that he thought he had their man set up to get the cloning technology once he married into the family. He said the royal bitch, which we have deduced to be my mother, only knew that she would get the money when she gave him the schematics.”
    “Right. What schematics? And why would she need money?”
    “Gambling debts would be my guess. My father refuses to support her gaming.”
    Simon closed his eyes and shook his head. “And I wish I knew what schematics. I haven’t been able to find out. I’ve been discreetly asking around to see if the IN or the Englor Marines have developed a new ship or weapon or…anything.” Maybe they needed to take their Marine commander, General Davidson, out for drinks and see if they could get him to talk.
    Simon sat up and scanned his thumb on the desk scanner, opened his top drawer and pulled out Benson’s last note.
    Roc frowned. “I haven’t heard anything either. Admittedly, I haven’t devoted much time to it. I’ve been hoping Benson would come through with more information.”
    “You and me both.” Silently, Simon read the next line. The valet said that Azrael has no idea I am here but I think he might suspect us. And remember, we always have her 30
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    The Englor Affair
    child to use if we have to. “Who is Azrael?” he wondered aloud. Did the note mean Azrael’s child or the queen’s? Simon couldn’t imagine what anyone could have on him.
    The only possibility would be his being gay, but it would be very hard to prove.
    “I suspect we’ll have an easier time figuring out what cloning technology and schematics they’re talking about.” Roc shrugged and let go of the curtain. “Azrael is an angel, isn’t he?”
    “Right, he was the angel of death. It’s a code name, but for who?” Simon asked.
    “That is a good question. Do you think Benson wants us to go to the IN with the info we have?”
    “I’m not doing anything until I find out more.”
    “Good plan.”
    “Maybe we can skip White’s and go straight to Jackson’s. A good fight might make me feel better.”
    “I’m only boxing with you if you promise not to hit back.” Roc let go of the curtain and turned to face Simon. “We need to find Benson, and figure out what the bloody hell is going on.”
    Lightning crackled and the lights flickered. Simon sat forward, resting his elbows on the desk.
    In the foyer, right outside the study door, a deep male voice yelled, “Bloody hell.”
    Then Dunston announced, “Colonel Eason is here to see you, Colonel.”
    What was Wycliffe doing here? They were supposed to meet him at White’s. “Let him in, Dunston.”
    Wycliffe stepped into the study, bringing the scent of rain with him. His Marine uniform was crisp and dry as was his black hair. He held his cover in his hand, his lips pressed tight in a grim line. Closing the door behind him, he sought out Simon’s gaze, then Roc’s. “Admiral Hawkins is coming to inspect the base.”
    The lights flickered once again before going off. Immediately, the hum of Dunston’s backup generators whirled, and the lights came back on.
    Simon groaned. “When it rains it pours?”

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    J.L. Langley

Chapter Two
    It has occurred to me that on Englor I will have no need for a chaperone, and as far as I know Nate has not procured one for me. And to think…all it took was a spy to kidnap my brother and his stepson.
    — from the journal of Payton Marcus Townsend

    Payton put his journal away and retrieved his com-pad when it beeped. He’d been waiting to see a likeness of Colonel Hollister for the last fifteen minutes. With all the excitement last night—arriving on the base and moving his things to his new room—he hadn’t gotten a chance to