First Episode

Missed a week due to life circumstances. Here we are again.

The Cost of Power is set in an alternative universe from the main Martiniere Legacy series. In this book, I take a closer look at the mind control technology and…the relationship between Gabe and his father Philip ends up being different.

Additionally, Gabe tells Ruby who he really is much, much earlier than in the main Martiniere Legacy series.

Most of all, I’m freeforming this story. I somewhat know where it’s going to go, but how it unfolds depend on what happens with Gabe, Philip, Ruby, and Justine once they get on a roll in this particular setting.

The entire series—The Cost of Power: Prodigal’s Return; The Cost of Power: Prodigal’s Crucible; and The Cost of Power: Prodigal’s Redemption—will be available in early 2024. This book is finished and the next two are outlined. It’s going to be quite the ride.

Enjoy! This is part two of Chapter Nine. There will be six parts to this chapter.

July, 2033

GABE

Ruby fell asleep in Gabe’s arms as they created a working plan for the immediate future of the Group, given the situation with Zingter and the Brauns.

One part of the discussion before Ruby dozed off was sheer vanity. Gabe needed appropriate suits like—yesterday. Clothing mattered in this high-level dance they were orchestrating. Appearances mattered. Ruby had some formal and dressy attire left over from her Miss Rodeo Oregon days that could hold her until they had time to visit the shops in Paris, but he had—nothing. Jeans. Shirts. Boots. All ranch work wear except for a couple of go-to-town rodeo outfits. That wouldn’t work for what lay ahead of him as Martiniere-in-waiting, and no one knew where his old bespoke suits had gone. Not that it mattered very much, because he had lost weight and muscled up as a result of ranch work and living poor, so his old suits wouldn’t fit him very well these days.

“I have a spare suit with me,” Donald said. “And dress shirt, with tie and pocket square. I’ll leave it for you.”

“Thanks, Don.” It was better than nothing, though Donald’s color choices weren’t his. Donald was the closest to him in size—Gerard was bigger and Philip shorter. At least he would be properly dressed until they made it to a couturier, and he could polish up his best go-to-town Western boots, those oh-so-expensive Noconas that actually looked decent with suits, to last until he picked up good loafers. The suit was the key part, no matter if the fit was slightly off. It mattered to the older, more traditional Family members.

Next came preparation for next week’s Board meeting, including an agenda managed by Gabe and Justine rather than Philip.

Before the meeting, Gabe needed to approach the more traditional Family members who might be amenable to Joey, persuade them to support him (and by implication, Justine) instead. As a result, he and Ruby would need to spend all of next week in Paris, not just for the three days they had planned for lab work, the Board meeting and clothes shopping. And the time before going to Paris had to be spent cramming as much information about the current status of the Group into his head as he could manage to pull off.

Lots of late night study ahead.

Oddly, he looked forward to it. A challenge. Despite everything, he was just starting to realize how much he had missed being away from the Group, away from using all that he had learned in college and from growing up in the Group. That was a selfish, private reason why he had been so eager to figure out a lab for Ruby—giving him a chance to use the skills he had honed for years. All the same, he could now set her up to do the work she had trained for, instead of scraping and scratching to survive.

“I’ll send Eliot to brief you further after I talk to him, Gabriel,” Justine said. “He knows the minutia of External Affairs and has access to information about what Joey’s been doing with Internal Affairs and the mind control program.”

“Joseph’s role in Internal Affairs is limited to the indenture program,” Philip said harshly. “I had thought that would keep him out of trouble. But now—” he shook his head. “It gave him access to the information he needed to pass on to Braun. His allies in the Family will resist removing him from that role.”

“Why don’t we just get rid of that damn indenture program?” Gabe asked.

“Because there are contracts we can’t walk away from that easily,” Philip said. He held up his hand as Gabe scowled at him. “Before you say anything, Gabriel, two of the contracts are with the US Army, as part of a cyborg development program.”

“Who the hell got us into that line of work?” Gabe did his best to keep his anger out of his voice. Maybe the others might not wake Ruby with their tones, but he probably could. Best not to risk it.

“Talk to your grandmother,” Philip said. “She refined the mind control technology. It was originally intended to allow injured soldiers to return to the battlefield with augmented abilities, if they wished. But it ended up dipping into mind control as well, as a means to counter the PTSD those soldiers experienced, so that they could continue fighting. Which caused political problems. At that point Zingter came up with a better cyborging option that apparently didn’t involve mind control. So the Board decided that this was a program better developed for agricultural workers, later extended to indentured workers, with a goal of maximizing their abilities in agricultural work. However, the Group kept those two military research contracts.”

Philip’s sour expression suggested he hadn’t been on board for that development, which meant—how old was that program? Indenture had started in 2009. During Saul’s reign as the Martiniere. Which meant it was quite likely that—

“Shit.” Gabe leaned his head against Ruby’s. She didn’t stir, and was sleeping soundly. Good. While she needed to know about this eventually, at least when Ruby was asleep, she wasn’t reacting to everyone’s tones. It seemed to be worse when she was tired.

We have to learn more about why she’s reacting. And that means—Donna-gran, damn it. I didn’t realize she was so deep into the development of mind control programming.

“Saul also supported the program,” Gerard added, confirming Gabe’s worst suspicion.

God. Things kept getting worse and worse. He knew that the man he had called Papa wasn’t pure as the driven snow, but to know this just wrenched at Gabe’s guts.

He raised his head as a thought occurred to him. “Could that program have also been a factor in the Brauns targeting not just the Group but the Family? Carrying old grudges from the ‘50s and turning it back on us?”

Philip and Gerard were silent. But from their expressions, Gabe didn’t need to hear the answer.

Justine’s sharply inhaled breath told Gabe she was thinking the same thing. “Is Donna-gran still involved with that cyborg development program? At her age?”

“I wish I knew,” Philip said. But his worried expression told Gabe even more. Especially since Gerard mirrored it.

What role does Donna-gran play in all of this?

“Donna-gran outlived Walter Braun. They’re the same age,” Justine said. “She has always gone her own way. In spite of the Family’s notorious sexism. She’s been a rule unto herself. And Braun died on the fifteenth anniversary of Saul and Angelica’s deaths.”

“Yes.” Philip’s voice was quiet.

“The Brauns have never been explicit about the circumstances of Walter’s death,” Justine continued, leaning forward, her face drawn and tight. The face of the First Secretary, External Affairs.

Oh Tine. Don’t.

And yet it was a role his sister seemed to be playing these days. Justine the enforcer. The one who dug up the Family dirt and dragged it out into broad daylight for study. If what she was implying was true—oh, it explained a lot.

Did Donna-gran play a role in Walter Braun’s death?

Did any of them really want to know the answer to that question? Though knowing that answer might well turn out to be mandatory in this fight against the Brauns.

Philip sighed. “I haven’t wanted to consider that possibility, Justine.”

Saying what Gabe felt. Thankfully.

“But she had multiple motives to act. Not just Walter’s attempt to marry me but the deaths of Saul. Angelica. Louisa. The Braun co-optation of the cyborg program.” Justine pushed a strand of brunette hair out of her face.

“She was recovering from cardiac surgery at the time,” Gabe said. “Wasn’t she?” Braun’s death had happened about the time he met Ruby, during his exile.

“She wouldn’t have needed to take action herself, Gabriel,” Philip said. “But if she had, it would involve a mind-controlled indentured.”

“What do we do about this?” he asked.

“Do you want to be the one bringing this up to your grandmother? All things considered? She is eighty-six years old.” Philip narrowed his eyes at Gabe.

“We have to deal with her.” Justine’s voice was flat. “Gabriel and I need to have our control word programming removed, and that’s a process that Piotr says is restricted to her alone.”

“Yeah,” Gabe said heavily. “Yeah.”

Maybe he could persuade Justine to join him in quizzing down their grandmother.

Share Martiniere Stories

Leave a comment