There was a low murmur among the Reunion settlers that Hallie had no difficulty in interpreting as longing at the mention of coffee. Apparently the director read it as well as his mouth lifted in a small smile.
“Coffee all round, then,” the director said. “Do come with us.”
Before they could move, Hallie caught the low sound of engines through the trees. She wasn’t the only one. The commander and his men went on alert, a subtle but definite shift of their postures, all of them turning towards the road that was mostly hidden by the trees, their weapons lifted to their shoulders, ready to use.
“Sounds like ATVs,” Hallie commented, mostly for the benefit of Donall and the others who were looking alarmed at the weapons around them.
Donall grimaced. “Probably Nicholas come to see what he can scavenge.” There was a savage bite to his tone that hadn’t been there before. He glanced at his three companions, then back at the director. “Before he arrives, I wish to make it clear that he does not speak for all of us.”
“Understood,” the director said, his expression giving nothing away. However, Hallie knew that he had listened to both her and Girard carefully the night before, and had asked them follow-up questions, too. She didn’t think there was any world in which Peredur Roth would be well-disposed to someone who put children in cages, but there was no time to reassure Donall and the others of that as the ATVs were coming into view.
She was not surprised to see Nicholas riding as a passenger on the first vehicle, which was being driven by the burly, dark-haired man she and Girard had met at the gates of New Hope. She was also not surprised to see that he’d brought another two ATVs with him, bristling with men with guns, or that Nicholas’ arrival was met by what looked like the entire complement of the Conclave Investigators’ tac team, armed and ready to fire.
Nicholas was not expecting that greeting. His driver stopped short of driving into the line of armedhochlen, close enough for Hallie to read the variety of expressions that went across Nicholas’ face from shock to embarrassment to fury. Looking past the line of armed men, he spotted Donall and the others and got out of the ATV, stalking his way across the gravel.
“You have no business here,” he stated, pointing a finger at Donall. “None of you.” He jabbed the finger in a circle in the air, covering everyone who was present from thehochlento humans.
“And you must be Nicholas Rigg,” the director said. Hallie had never heard him sound so utterly arrogant, so completelyhochlen, before. “I am Peredur Roth, director of the Conclave Investigators. I have a warrant for your arrest from the Conclave.”
Hallie tried to hide a smile, and heard a few gasps from the Reunion settlers. She wasn’t surprised that Nicholas Rigg was wanted by the Conclave. She assumed that the director must have looked up his name when Girard’s radio message reached him. Or the young and eager Jasper Clayton had done so when he’d relayed the message.
“Outrageous,” Nicholas sputtered, face flushed. “You have no authority here.”
“He really said that?” the director asked, addressing his remark to Girard.
“He really did, sir,” Girard answered. “He seems to believe it, too. Or pretends he does.”
“What’s the warrant for?” Hallie asked, partly through curiosity and partly to simply annoy Nicholas.
“He was convicted of theft with special circumstances. Sentenced to fifteen years’ detention,” the director told her.
“Those really must have been special circumstances,” Hallie said, brows lifting.
“Threats of violence against children and actual violence against their parents were involved,” the director said.
“Seems like a pattern with him.” Hallie’s voice was hard, memory of the caged children still vivid.
“All lies,” Nicholas said, almost shaking with rage. He turned on his heel, stalking away from the director. Not a stupid man. But he’d lingered too long, and had made an error of judgement in coming here himself rather than sending his lackeys. As he turned to face the ATVs and the armed men he’d brought with him, he discovered that the Conclave tactical team had quietly and efficiently disarmed all of the men and removed their weapons. The weapons were in a tidy pile not far from the ATVs, with the men in a line a short distance away, closely watched by a quartet of armedhochlen. Hallie could see both anger and nervousness on the captives’ faces. She just hoped they had more sense than Nicholas and wouldn’t try to do anything stupid.
“Commander, will you arrange accommodations for the prisoners along with the others?” the director asked. He got a crisp nod from Commander Rojas. Peredur glanced at Nicholas, still standing a short distance away. “I will be speaking to the Conclave later today and they’ll decide what they want done with you. Until then, you’ll stay with the others.”
“Outrageous,” Nicholas spluttered again. His brain seemed to be stuck on that word. “You cannot treat me like that. I am the principal of this island and I will have your respect.”
“You don’t deserve any respect. And whatever place you’re held in, I can assure you that it will be more comfortable than a wooden cage,” Hallie told him, anger getting the better of her.
“Well said,” Girard murmured, loudly enough for Nicholas to hear.
Nicholas’ control snapped. He surged forward, lunging at Hallie. She stepped to one side and stuck her foot out, sending him sprawling, face first, onto the churned up gravel. He let out a howl of pain and fury and tried to gather himself up, doubtless wanting to try attacking her again. Before he could do so, two armedhochlenwere on him, one with a knee in his back, the other producing a pair of flexi-cuffs.
“Are you alright, ma’am?” Commander Rojas asked, with apparently genuine concern.
“Goodness, yes,” Hallie said, with a laugh. “Thank you,” she added.
“Sir, let me secure the prisoners then I’ll join you in the kitchen,” the commander said to Peredur.
“Of course. If you’ll come with me,” the director said to the Reunion settlers, “we were going to get you some coffee before that rude interruption.”
Donall was openly smiling as he watched Nicholas, spitting curses and struggling against the cuffs, being led away.
