Chapter 14

Strangers in the Night: 14.

Italy: Riki was in second place for the Championship ... when she fucked up in a manner worthy of Royalty; she met the son of a Duke. The first son of a Duke.

Serious mistake.

She was a notch on his bedpost. He moved on looking for the next test of droit du seigneur, the right of the aristocracy to take a bride on her wedding night.

Over the years since his puberty, he had twisted that into taking what he wanted, when he wanted and as often as he wanted.

A couple of extremely expensive buy outs had convinced his parents ... a duke and duchess ... that his behavior might stand a little modification. That a little moderation, a little seduction, and maybe the judicious use of certain drugs could help him achieve his goals. There was never a hint that his ideas were wrong ... what did morals have to do with the anointed?

Riki was just a driver on the rally circuit ... I mean ... really ... a girl doing a male dominated job? The last name completely passed over his head. What kind of a name is Valmaat?

She was pretty, had a excellent set of the things that girls were meant to have ... and that white blonde hair made junior prince leak.

And that was all it took.

They met accidentally. He took her to dinner, gambling, sailing on the dinghy to his yacht. What else would one call the forty foot sailboat that was stowed inside a three hundred thirty-five Rivi?

Riki was enthralled, seduced and abandoned practically over night.

I reported the black eyes to Dal and Wendy photographed the bruises and bites.

"When he found out I wasn't a virgin ... Oh, Wendy ... it was awful," she said.

Dal showed up. His luggage was suspiciously light and long. Must be an interesting suit.

"Who was it?" Dal wasn't asking his daughter, he was asking me.

"The son of a bitch was the son of a duke," I said. "Or maybe the other way round."

"English?"

"No. Some minor central European country. Poland or Romanian."

"There's a big difference between Poland and Romania."

"True," I agreed, "But all those eastern europe countries are all under communist control in my world."

"What is communist?"

"Russia dominates the Baltic states, except for Finland, Sweden and Norway. Their politics are supposed to be that everyone works for the state, everyone works for the state and there are no privileged classes."

"What!"

"They put to death the Royal family, most of the nobles, the aristocrats, the officer corps, took over all the industry, farms, fisheries, mining and generally fucked things up.

"They took Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania. They invaded Finland. Finland fights the invaders and wins the first time but loses the peninsula in the second go. Pretty much everything east of Poland all the way to China is communist. It's a mess."

"By the Gods," Dal exclaimed.

"Them too," I said. "The State allows no competitor. The church is outlawed and lose their assets."

"So ... what country is this son of a duke from?"

"Seitz Bunau," I said. "Near Switzerland. What are you planning to do?"

"Kill the mother fucker," Dal said.

"Good idea, the second son is a peach."