Where Weavers Daire

Chapter Four

House Business

Wha? Thomas thought and stared down into the soulless, blue eyes of Wallace's plate. "Don't change the subject. We all know MacGregor's been missing for years!"

"Not anymore." Wallace thumbed to the image. "That's his cloak. Where is he?"

"Don't you mean where's Mindy?" Jainey said.

"We know where she is, right next to him or at least she was. Thirty years of back channeling to find him and she finds him out here. What are the odds?" Wallace said. "I need to scrub the rest of this video and a secure line."

"It could be any cloak," Zi said.

"No, you've done a good job of burning them out of this coil. It's his. I know that plate anywhere," Wallace said.

"And of course, you would know. Wouldn't you?" Vernon said.

Wallace's pearly white smile wasn't nearly as hospitable as it looked. Thomas had learned many things when dealing with Lord Wallace Stukari. The teeth only came out when he encountered resistance. Others drew their personal dagger for such an offense, Wallace brought his teeth.

"Mister MacGregor and I were thick as thieves when we were children. It kept us alive long enough to be useful. So, yes, I do know a great deal about him. The Necromancer's cloak belonged to his father's father. They smashed in the MacGregor plates and burned down their House to send a message. I built him a new one," Wallace said. "Why her?"

"What?" Thomas said.

"Why Mindy and why now?" Wallace growled. "Doesn't make sense. All the way out here? Miss Scott, I need to borrow secure line from you, immediately."

"No," Jainey said.

"What?" Thomas said.

"Be reasonable," Zi said.

"I am being reasonable," Jainey said. "Mindy is my concern and you're worried about your childhood friend that no one has seen in thirty years."

"What do you want?" Wallace said.

"You're going to find Mindy and then you're free to do whatever you please," Jainey said.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable," Wallace said.

Jainey laughed. "You're going to agree with me that easily?"

"I like this suit. It took me years to find the proper tailor. It hides things in plain sight. My suit and your ship are alike in many ways. Geri scoured the junkyards to find the right manual to put her back together and she does exactly what she is supposed to do. She has little nooks and crannies that hide things. I like all my parts in one piece and that assault shotgun behind your back will ruin what's taken me years to craft," Wallace said. "So, yes, I will find Mindy for you but first, I need a secure line to contact another ship to come pick us up."

"We can't go with this one?" Jainey said.

"Because Thomas' flight plan didn't cover any of this, we bounce across the border like this and everyone will know. We won't even land and they'll probably blow us to bits. I may have been off planet for years, but my contacts still remember my name. Unlike some people in this ship who shall remain nameless," Wallace said.

"He does have a point," Thomas said quietly. "Wait, Jainey is coming with us."

"No. She's staying on board. As planned," Wallace said and looked about. "Your back up just jumped out of S-Cut. Freda has you on a short leash."

"How can you tell that?" Vernon said.

Wallace tapped his plate. "This burden comes with a lovely array of sensors. I'd like to call in a shuttle from the surface and then we'll be going."