V3 Chapter 106: All of This Is Evidence
"You can't kill me right now."
Fidicus stood behind the black metal table, watching Duvette study him with his head tilted, his voice level enough to betray no emotion at all. Those hollow, black eyes stayed fixed on Duvette's face, as though nothing that had reached this chamber could make him afraid.
"I can't?"
Duvette let out a short laugh, as if he'd just heard a joke. He drew the Blade of Glory from his belt in one sharp motion, the blade's rasp against its sheath accompanying him as he walked slowly toward Fidicus.
"I know you were once a fine assassin yourself, Fidicus." Duvette said it flatly. "I hear you still take a job personally now and then, even now, and leave a strip of scarlet ribbon by the body afterward."
Fidicus didn't answer. Duvette watched the man, who showed not the slightest intention of resisting, and closed the distance step by step until [Aura: Abyss of Ithaka] settled fully over him.
An invisible weight settled over Fidicus's body. His fingers stilled for the briefest instant, his pupils contracting slightly, and the sharp nerve reflexes he'd always relied on grew visibly dulled.
Duvette raised the Blade of Glory in a sudden motion, pressing its sharp edge against Fidicus's throat. One more push forward and the blade would slice clean through skin, pierce the throat, sever the windpipe.
Fidicus glanced down at the blade, now a hair's breadth from his throat, and still didn't step back. He could feel his own body growing sluggish; even judging the direction of Duvette's attack in advance, his muscles would struggle to respond in time.
"You really are something else, Marshal-Commissar Duvette Erdmann." Fidicus raised his head again. "There's a sensor-triggered bomb implanted in my heart. If I die by anything other than natural means, it will detonate at once. This Silent House, and the chapel above it, will both be levelled."
"Are you threatening me?" Duvette narrowed his eyes, and pressed the blade a fraction closer.
"Not at all." Fidicus said. "I'm simply laying out the stakes. I can't say what means you have of preserving your own life, and I can't say whether you could carry two Lord Inquisitors and these Astartes clear of the blast together."
Duvette stared into those emotionless eyes, the smile fading slowly from his face. He had no doubt at all that a Grand Master of the Assassinorum would have prepared such a thing inside his own body, and he had no intention of testing the blast's power with his own life.
"I wasn't the one who orchestrated this assassination attempt." Fidicus went on.
There it is.
Duvette gave a cold, silent laugh inwardly, though almost nothing of it showed on his face. He didn't move the blade from Fidicus's throat, only asked, in a flat tone, "You want to hand over everyone else, in exchange for your own life?"
"No." Fidicus answered. "I only want the Assassinorum to survive whatever comes of this."
His gaze shifted to the black metal table beside him. Several data crystal chips sat arranged neatly across its surface, each one sealed within a protective casing bearing the Assassinorum's mark.
"The first chip holds the original resolution passed by the Council of High Lords. Eight High Lords authorised surveillance, detention, and compulsory review of you, along with restrictions on the movement of the Shadow Wolves of Luna and the Conqueror."
"The second holds a supplementary order, altered after the fact. The original resolution permitted 'necessary measures' should you refuse detention. That clause was later expanded into a covert execution order."
Duvette's eyes went entirely cold. "So who, exactly, wants me dead?"
"Master of the Administratum Ilthor Cimotrion is at the centre of this plan." Fidicus answered without hesitation. "He believes you're one of Guilliman's most trusted confidants. Once the Primarch begins reorganising the Imperium's administrative structure, you would become his most effective instrument."
Duvette wasn't surprised in the least. Ever since he'd entered the Sol System, the Administratum had repeatedly demanded he be held back for separate review. So this lot had already planned out everything that came after, from the start.
"The Ecclesiarch, Baldo Slester, also backed the execution." Fidicus went on. "He fears Guilliman will undermine the narrative of the Emperor's divinity, and weaken the Ecclesiarchy's existing power. In his judgment, you would help Guilliman handle whatever business couldn't be carried out in the open."
"Didn't realise I rated so highly." Duvette said with a cold laugh.
"Grand Provost Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites Avelisa Delakhma considers the Shadow Wolves of Luna, the Conqueror, and you yourself all to be serious threats to order. Your refusal to submit to separate review, and bringing Astartes of anomalous identity onto Terra, convinced her that ordinary detention measures would be unlikely to hold."
"Lord High Admiral Merelda Perez fears you'll use Guilliman's trust to interfere with the Solar Battle Fleet, and press further reviews into the Imperial Navy's upper command. Lord Commander Militant Mar af Ashariel of the Astra Militarum believes Guilliman will have you take part in reorganising the Astra Militarum's supreme command structure, and so backed direct execution should detention fail."
Once Fidicus had finished, the chamber fell into a brief silence. Duvette ran the count in his head, then looked down at the man beneath his blade.
"And you, of course."
Six of the twelve High Lords, it turned out, wanted him dead outright. Duvette had known this lot on Terra had plenty of nerve, but even he'd underestimated just how far their madness ran.
"The execution order carries only five High Lords' secret authorisation. Add you, and that's six." Duvette said. "The Assassinorum needs a two-thirds vote from the High Lords to deploy even a single assassin. You understand what that means better than I do."
"The Assassinorum only carries out the orders it receives." Fidicus answered evenly.
"Nicely washed your own hands of it." Duvette's mouth curled. "It was you who sent out the Vindicare and the Callidus. Don't hand me a few doctored documents and tell me you were just some ignorant instrument carrying out orders."
Fidicus fell silent for a moment, his hollow eyes fixed on Duvette the whole time. "I'll accept whatever judgment follows. But I ask that once Guilliman leaves the Eternity Gate, he render the verdict on my crimes himself."
Duvette neither agreed nor refused. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Juno had already walked up to the metal table, connecting her Inquisitorial seal to the reader terminal.
Documents projected into the air one after another. Juno moved quickly through them, checking the authentication codes, modification timestamps, and transmission records. Heinz stood beside her, copying the key material into the Inquisitorial Tribunal's encrypted storage device.
Just as Duvette was about to press further, heavy footsteps sounded from the passage outside. The three Shadow Wolves of Luna who'd gone after the decoy squad returned to the chamber.
"The double and his escort are secured." the lead Shadow Wolf reported. "The Adeptus Arbites and the Palace security forces have already sealed off the block around the chapel. Armed personnel are posted outside several of the underground exits."
Duvette's expression darkened. At the same moment, the chamber's emergency comm channel suddenly came alive, a red indicator light flashing to signal the highest priority.
He looked at Fidicus, his eyes signalling for the man to take the call. The Grand Master of the Assassinorum raised a hand and completed the identity verification, and an encrypted voice soon came through the comm device.
"Status report."
The fury on Duvette's face twisted abruptly into a savage grin. He lowered the Blade of Glory from Fidicus's throat and turned to face the comm device.
"Well, hello there, Lord Cimotrion. Seems you care about me a great deal. No need to worry, though. I'll be coming to find you."
Silence fell on the other end of the line. A moment later, the channel was cut off abruptly, leaving only a low, flat dial tone echoing through the chamber.
Duvette finally couldn't hold back a laugh. He kept the Blade of Glory loose in his right hand, and pressed his left hand down heavily on Fidicus's shoulder, steering the man toward the door.
"Let's go, Lord Fidicus."
"There's quite a crowd outside, waiting to hear your explanation."
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