Losham should be so lucky.
Each scenario branched into sub-possibilities, each sub-possibility spawning others, the decision tree spreading through Losham's mind with the speed and complexity of fractal mathematics. The problem was that he didn't have enough information to make his calculations, and he'd learned long ago not to commit to a conclusion until he had adequate data.
He set the speculation aside and rose from the bed.
The marble floor was cool against his feet as he walked to the window. His mansion sat on a hill overlooking the vivid green of the tropical vegetation and the ocean.
Regrettably, his beautiful house wasn't really his. It had been assigned to him, which meant that it could be unassigned atNavuh's whim. Thankfully, he had properties all over the world that belonged to him exclusively and that his father didn't even know about. Losham had been quietly building his fortune through strategic real estate investments. The house overlooking the San Francisco Bay, the apartment building in Koreatown, and several other properties in prime locations were all appreciating at rates that made his official Brotherhood salary look like pocket change.
Insurance, he'd told himself. A contingency plan.
With Navuh, one never knew what tomorrow would bring, and Losham had a feeling that today was that tomorrow.
He lifted the receiver of his bedside phone and pressed the intercom button.
"Good morning, sir," Rami answered. "Should I start your coffee?"
"Yes, please. I'll be down in twenty minutes." He paused for a moment. "Did you have a chance to check the morning reports yet? I want to know if anything unusual happened overnight."
"I haven't yet, but I will do so right away, sir."
"Thank you, Rami. If there is nothing in the reports, call Hakum."
Navuh's assistant wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was usually well informed.
"Yes, sir," Rami said.
By the time Losham descended to his private study, Rami was waiting with coffee, Jamaican Blue Mountain properly brewed, and a tablet displaying the overnight security reports.
"Well?" Losham settled into his preferred chair, the leather molding to him with the comfort of long familiarity.
Rami's expression was neutral, but Losham knew his assistant well. He could read the tension in the slight tightness around Rami's eyes, and the way his fingers gripped the tablet just a fraction too hard.
"Spit it out, Rami. Don't keep me in suspense."
"Something is not right, sir."
Losham wanted to clap himself on the back for feeling that something was off, but he was also worried.
"Elaborate."
"There was nothing in the reports, so I called Hakum. He said that Lord Navuh hasn't returned from the harem this morning, which in itself is unusual, but he was supposed to have a conference call with a drug lord in Venezuela, and when Hakum called him to ask if he should postpone the call, Lord Navuh did not answer."
That was a problem.
There were no phones in the harem save for the one Navuh had on him, so the only way to find out if anything had happened in there overnight was to send someone to check. The harem was off limits to the rest of the island, including the security office personnel who monitored everywhere else. If there was camera surveillance in there, the feed went straight to Navuh without going through the regular channels.
The human guards stationed in the harem had comms devices, though, so in case of an emergency they could be contacted that way.
"Have the harem guards been alerted?" Losham asked.
"Yes, sir. The guards talked to the maid who usually delivers the lord's breakfast each morning, and she said that the lord was already gone when she delivered it this morning. She assumed that he had returned to the mansion. The staff at the mansion reports that he is not in his quarters."
"Did anyone check his office?"
"Hakum did, but the office door is locked. That's not unusual. Lord Navuh locks his office every day before heading to the harem."
Losham took a sip of his coffee, using the moment to keep his face expressionless. "A mystery then. Perhaps Lord Navuh is on a walk? Perhaps he's visiting the lab with the enhanced soldiers? Has Hakum contacted the security office? They must have spotted Lord Navuh somewhere."
