Vangorich put down his data-slate and a sheaf of documents, and walked to the sideboard to pour an amasec. The drinks, a modest collection of fine marks, were kept in special, tamper-proof bottles. He sniffed the empty glass for residue before he poured. Old habits.
Before he took his first sip, he used his thumb ring to deactivate a secret drawer in the top of the sideboard cabinet, slid it open, and took out the elegant, long-barrelled plasma pistol cushioned inside.
Without looking around, he said, ‘The left-hand armoire, beside the De Mauving landscape.’
Then he turned and aimed the weapon at the item of furniture he had just described.
A small but powerfully built man in a black bodyglove stepped out from behind the armoire and nodded sheepishly to Vangorich.
‘Nice try,’ said Vangorich, and lowered the weapon.
‘Every time, sir,’ said the man. ‘What was it on this occasion?’
‘Body-heat sensors,’ said Vangorich, taking a sip of his drink.
‘I deactivated them.’
Vangorich nodded.
‘And, therefore,’ he said, ‘I got no body-heat notifications from the security overwatch when I entered the suite, not even my own.’
‘Ah,’ said the man, slightly ashamed.
‘Also, you managed to throw a slight side-shadow under the foot of the armoire. You didn’t take into account the glow-globes to your left.’
The man nodded, chastened.
‘Where is she?’ asked Vangorich.
‘The atrium, sir,’ said the man.
Vangorich poured a second amasec and carried both drinks through to the small inner courtyard. Wienand was sitting on the bench beside the thermal pool, watching the luminous fish dart in the steaming shallows.
‘All done humiliating my bodyguard?’ she asked, not getting up.
‘A visit from you wouldn’t be the same without an opportunity to humiliate your man,’ he replied, handing her one of the glasses.
‘Kalthro is very good,’ she said, ‘the best we have. You’re the only person who ever catches him out.’
‘I consider it to be part of his education, a gift from the Officio Assassinorum to the Inquisition.’
He sat down next to her and crossed one knee over the other, rocking his glass.
‘Your visits are less frequent these days, Wienand,’ he said. ‘I was beginning to think you didn’t like me. To what do I owe this pleasure?’
‘Agenda item 346,’ she said.
‘346?’ He paused and thought for a second, running through the day’s fearsome data-load in his eidetic memory. ‘The Imperial Fists’ undertaking to Ardamantua?’
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘It was the quickest item of the day. It was raised and covered in about two minutes. Pending, awaiting reports from the Chapter Master.’
Wienand nodded. Her cheekbones were as sharp as glacial cliffs. Her hair was silver in the light.
‘What of it, Wienand?’
She pursed her lips.
‘A threat is developing,’ she said.
‘A threat?’
‘In the opinion of the Inquisition, yes.’
‘A xenos threat?’
She nodded.
‘They’re called… Chromes, aren’t they?’ asked Vangorich. ‘I did see the briefing paper.’
‘The Imperial Fists have undertaken the mission to Ardamantua to suppress a xenoform outbreak. The xenoforms are known as Chromes.’
He raised his eyebrows.
‘What am I missing?’ he asked.
‘You tell me.’
Vangorich shrugged. ‘I don’t know. As I understand it, these Chromes are like vermin. Nothing out of the ordinary. They have to be dealt with. I gather their numbers are greater than usual. The Fists have mobilised in prodigious numbers, almost full force. I understood that was a political gesture, to show them being useful in peacetime.’
He hesitated.
‘Wienand, if it’s a threat that seriously jeopardises an almost full-strength Chapter, you’re starting to worry me.’
She cleared her throat.
‘No, the politics should worry you,’ she said.
‘Go on.’
‘Mirhen’s taken pretty much his entire Chapter to Ardamantua to deal with the xenos threat. He’s the only one taking it seriously.’
‘And why is he taking it seriously? Who alerted him to it?’
‘We did,’ she said.
‘Of course you did.’
‘The Fists are more than capable of dealing with the Chrome problem,’ Wienand said. ‘The point is, they shouldn’t have to. The Imperium should be meeting the challenge. Ardamantua should have been a joint undertaking between the Astra Militarum and the Navy, with a backbone of Fists as its cutting edge. Deploying the whole Chapter was ungainly and clumsy.’
