The Last Day of the War - Part 1

"Hardly trivial Irisa. The value of all that you have stolen actually exceeds the amount of currency in circulation. Your ability to destabilize our economy has left the Grand Council rather upset. I am afraid you have been an exceptionally naughty girl." Velvel walked slowly to a position that allowed him a clear view of the portrait behind me. He looked at it as if it were an old friend just returned from a long vacation.

"I am not a girl any longer, Uncle Vel, and I never stole a thing. I merely moved them from one display venue to another. The Symphony Committee has poor taste in art at times. You must agree Tayte’s work belongs in the Symphony of Light, not the University library, or someone’s musty old den." I knew Velvel was only trying to scare me. He would hardly have shown up in his most formal attire to simply arrest me. I looked up at the second floor balcony and into the gaping barrel of an inertia rifle. To know fear is human, but to show fear is beneath the First Born of a Noble House. The mantra ran through my mind as I calmly lowered my eyes to meet the Inspector’s gaze.

"No, Irisa, you are not a girl any longer and my den is not musty." Velvel turned to face me squarely now and placed both of his hands behind his back. "Thanks to you though, at least one of Tayte’s portraits will hang in the Symphony. It will be famous as the work of art that lured the greatest art thief in the history of Galine to her capture. Much thought, though, will have to be given on whether the histories will be allowed to name you as that thief. We would not want to tarnish the reputation of our nation’s greatest Noble House."

"Capture? Don’t you mean arrest?" Something about Velvel’s stance made me look up at the balcony again. He was well outside the fields of fire of all the inertia rifles pointing down at me. Velvel was really overdoing the part about trying to scare me, as one inertia rifle would have been more than sufficient to cut me in two. A frightening thought exploded across my mind and I quickly counted the black clad State Police rifleman above me. Somehow, my heart managed to beat faster. To know fear is human, but to show fear is beneath…

"Fifteen black clad men? Is this to be an execution then, Inspector?" I held my breath waiting for his answer. A nod of his head could serve as an order to fire and an answer both.

"That is your decision, child." Velvel smiled at me with a touch of sadness and a touch of pride. "I could not be sure how sheltered you were from current events and the Inquisitor that signed the capture warrant is one of your blade-sisters. Without breaking the code of your society, she was exceptionally clear on my chances of survival if you decided to resist. The possibility that I would have to have you killed meant I had to bring the full fifteen required by the laws of assassination and execution."

"How very thoughtful of you." I took a deep, even breath and tried to will some moisture back into my mouth. "What could be so horrible about being arrested that I would chose to die like rabid beast instead? No citizen is above being justly punished for transgressions, but to choose to die in such a manner is beneath me."