Concern writ large in her expression, Harriman was at Matthias’s side in an instant. “Are you all right, Lauren?” Her gaze shifted to the two prone bodies; one dead, the other defiant. “O’Morion, what the hell just happened here?”
“Death to Commonwealth!” the pinioned Hata-nau rasped. “Death to thieves of Fluva! Those who stay, we kill!”
Swallowing hard, her throat dry, Matthias strove to project an air of calm above the pandemonium that had enveloped the office. “I’d say that explains it pretty plainly.” Under the direction of a trio of armed officers who had arrived in response to an emergency call from a member of the staff, the surviving assassin was secured and hauled away, facedown, long arms bound behind him.
Matthias restrained one officer briefly. “If you can, find out if they are acting alone or, if not, who sent them. They could be acting on behalf of a clan, a family, a single fanatical Yuiqueru, or someone else. Or they might have decided to do this on their own.” Her expression contorted as she watched the bound assassin being removed from the room. “The extremists’ extremist.”
“Don’t worry, Administrator.” The officer’s face was flushed with anger. “We’ll get the answer out of him. If we have to, we’ll just turn him over to some of the local Deyzara who’ve lost loved ones in the uprising.”
“No,” she replied firmly. “This doesn’t involve the Deyzara. Do what you can, but do it properly, following prescribed procedure.”
The officer was visibly disappointed. “As you wish, ma’am.” Turning, he hurried off in pursuit of his colleagues.