I had Lizell and Robert under me as pieces of the ceiling plaster fell.

My bob was talking in my ear. “We have a skipper missile strike on the Grand Meeting Hall. All units move the rabbits to warrens.”

Praetorian Guard were moving all around us. They scooped up Robert and Lizell. “Get them to safety. I have a military to command,” I ordered.

Angel was leading them out of the room and into the underground tunnels. I moved out the front door to see the smoking ruin of the meeting hall. If we had not moved the wedding at the last minute, we would have been in there.

I walked up to one of the soldiers standing guard with his rifle. “I need your sidearm, soldier.”

He un-holstered the weapon and gave it to me without comment.

The boom of a drop shuttle coming into the atmosphere was clearly heard over the noise. Then the air-defense cannons opened fire. The pilot was good. He flew a perfect evasive pattern on his way in. Once he dropped low enough, the shuttle opened its bay doors and people flooded out and dropped from the sky. More than a hundred men had parachuted out of the craft.

I moved to the first jeep I saw and commandeered it. As I drove, I spoke over my bob. “We have rats falling from the sky. Secure the palace. All troops converge on my signal. Terminate all targets with extreme prejudice.”

I was getting close enough to see the people falling from the sky. What I saw made me stop the jeep. I pulled the binoculars out of their holder on the dash and focused on the man in the center of the troops.

It was Dundal.

I had seen him die, and his brother as well. Then my eyes picked out a slight difference. This man had a scar on his face. It ran from just below his eye to his chin. They must have been triplets. Identical triplets? How often did that happen?

I pulled the pistol and took aim. It was a long shot at best, but I was going to take the shot anyway. Just before he dropped into the trees I pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

I looked down at the gun in my hand. The clip was slightly dislodged. I cursed as I seated it fully and listened to the pulse battery in it charge the system.

I jumped out of the jeep and ran towards the tree line. I knew I should wait for other soldiers to show up, but I was pissed. This was my wedding day and these fuckers had messed it up. I was going to make them pay for every tear Lizell shed.

As I moved into the tree line the sound of a pulse battery charging caught my attention. I leveled and fired the pistol in my hand. The tree where the man was hiding turned into splintered wood. The man died with a meter long splinter sticking through his throat.

I moved over and picked up his pistol. It was not a signature weapon, so I could use it. I started to hear others moving through the woods. I went into hunt mode.

I moved quietly as I stalked through the trees. Off to my right I heard a twig snap. A round followed the sound and a scream followed the round.

I stepped quickly away from my location and started to stalk again. I moved deeper into the woods. I realized where they were leading me. I saw the fishing pond just as several of them dove into the water. One of them was on his knees reaching into his backpack. I fired the pulse pistol and killed him instantly. Then I ran to the backpack still standing on the grass. Inside was what I was looking for. They had micro-breathers.

I grabbed it and stuck it in my mouth. Then I dove into the pond. They were swimming into the pump pipe that took the water into the filtering system. The pistols would be useless under water. I dropped them and followed. What I would not give for my rail pistol right now.

I caught one of them a little ways into the pipe. He tried to turn and fire his pistol. They worked no better for them under water. I pulled his knife off his leg and gutted him before he could realize his mistake.

I had a weapon again. We moved through the pipes as they swam towards their destination. I killed several of them before I came to the access hatch they had used.

I opened the hatch and spilled out onto the floor. I knew where I was now. These were the maintenance tunnels. We were near the closest warren to the throne room. They were headed to the warren to try to assassinate the emperor.

I could not use my bob — I might give away my position. I needed an advantage. Right now all I had was a knife. I followed the sounds of their movement through the tunnels. They were headed right for the warren. Then I figured out their plan.

This warren was near the underground water reserve tanks. They were going to hit the warren with explosives. I had to stop them. I had to risk the bob. “The throne warren is under siege. Remove the packages.”

The answer I received chilled me to the bone. “Throne warren was compromised. Unable to move the packages. Back-up dispatched. Status code black flag.”

Black flag meant a member of the royal family was wounded or trapped in a situation. The warren had sealed itself and the rabbits were locked inside.

Then I heard movement ahead of me. Several of the enemy had circled back to intercept me.

The fight in the dim light was fast and nasty. I did not give any of them a chance. I walked away less than a minute later with a roman style sword in one hand and a rail pistol in the other.

I heard the muffled boom of an explosion ahead of me. Then I stepped around a bend in the tunnel to see my worst nightmare. The wall of the warren had been taken out with shaped charges. They had breached the warren.

As I watched, the leader came out with his arm around Lizell’s neck. I raised my weapon and fired at the other men there. Then I heard answering gunfire from inside.

This second brother of Dundal moved away dragging Lizell with him. I called into the warren from a distance away. “Status report.”

Robert’s voice answered me. “PG intact, royal family intact, matriarch wounded but survivable. Grand Lady Lizell is taken. Fuck that guy’s day up, Drake.”

I moved off after this man as fast as I could. He was headed directly for the storage tank.

The tank was a huge underground lake. It was deep into the bedrock.

I arrived just in time to see my enemy drag Lizell into the water with him. He had his breather, but she did not.

I jammed my breather into my mouth and ran for the water. I saw the rail rounds broach the surface as I dove. They missed me by a long distance. He had not accounted for the refraction of light as it entered water.

I followed as he tried to swim away, towing Lizell by her neck. I saw her struggles getting weaker as they swam. I had to get to her.

I had to save my wife. I could not fail her. He saw me and turned in the water. Lizell was barely struggling now. I would take the injury to save her. I kept swimming directly at them.

Lizell now hung limply in his arm. I could see him smile around his breather. He let go of her and she started to drift downward. I saw him take aim as I swam towards him.

Lizell’s eyes suddenly opened and she brought her leg up with a force which amazed me. This man was surprised by it also. Her leg connected with his balls like a grand-slam home run.

His shot went wild as his gun bucked out of his hand. I leveled my rail gun and fired. They would have to empty and clean the reservoir now. As his eyes glazed over, Lizell grabbed his breather and jammed it in her mouth.

I swam to her and took her in my arms. We broke the surface just as a group of Praetorian Guard arrived at the edge. Angel was in the lead. “Status report!”

I pulled the breather out of my mouth and called back. “We are code green. Tank has sewage in the bottom of it.”

*********

I was reading the report from our military intelligence division. Dundal had two brothers in the same birth. Daval and Drindal were his identical siblings. I was very happy to find out there wasn’t a fourth one out there.

“I never told you I was a champion swimmer in high school?” Lizell asked, as she stepped out of the bathroom.

“I think I would have remembered that little tidbit.”

“I can hold my breath for almost five minutes.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to find that out.”

She smiled and came to sit in my lap. “Now, about your idea of after ceremony entertainment, I really was not entertained.”

“It wasn’t my idea. I think Robert arranged it.” I slid my hand under her towel.

“When do we leave to go look at our palace?”

“In two days.”

She reached up and pulled the towel away from her body. As it dropped to the floor she whispered in a sexy voice, “I wonder what we are going to do for two whole days.”

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