General Rob Herman relaxed in his chair, bored. He watched as his mother, President Louise Theresa Camford, gave a speech on the state of affairs in the Republic. In the old days of the war, these speeches could be quite interesting, as they were often used to rally the support and emotions of the citizens. But, the war had been won, and peace had filled the lands for the past few years. Any current problems were swept away by the Guardian Force before they had a chance to get dangerous.

            So, these weekly speeches had become tedious. Regardless of the state of affairs, the Madame President was expected to give at least a thirty-minute speech. Herman looked down at his watch. Twenty minutes to go.

            The General looked around. He was seated on the stage, behind his mother, along with any other VIPs that had decided to attend, including Captain O'Connell. Herman frowned as he noticed his fellow soldier had dozed off. It wasn't good for the citizens to think the Republican Army was lazy. But then Herman noticed that, with the current position of the sun, their part of the stage was covered by the shadow of a nearby building. So, there was a good chance no one would notice if someone dozed off. Herman assumed O'Connell had noticed this, and taken advantage of the opportunity. The general smiled, and decided he'd do the same.

            He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. However, there were plenty of distractions. A bug of some sort kept flying around his head, plus there was a glare of some sort in his eyes, and it was pretty annoying. He opened his eyes and looked for the source of the glare. It was coming from a window in a nearby building. It seemed to be coming from some sort of tube…like the barrel of a gun…

            Or a sniper rifle…

            Herman was on his feet when he heard the shot. He knew he had less than a second. He dove towards his mother, grabbing her midsection and throwing her to the floor. He heard the whiz of a bullet pass only inches above his head. If he had been a second late…

            He jumped to his feet and looked towards the window. The rifle had dropped, and the person there had run off. But Herman knew this area well. That building, a hotel, had a staff exit in the back. It was the only place someone could leave through without being seen.

            "O'Connell!" Herman shouted to his second-in-command. "Watch my mothe…watch the Madame President while I'm gone!" He saw the captain salute his acknowledgement out of the corner of his eye. Then Herman ran towards the hotel.

            With his adrenaline pumping, the general was able to make it to the back of the hotel in record time. The door was ajar, as if someone had passed through it in a hurry. Herman ran into the nearby alley, and saw a figure, likely a man, wearing a dark hood.

            "Stop right there!" Herman shouted. The figure looked back at him briefly, then jumped onto a nearby ladder leading up to an apartment building

            Herman raised his gun, and fired a few inches above the assassin's hands. The shot scared the man, and he fell to the ground. Herman walked over to him and pulled the hood off.

            He gasped at the face underneath. The wild red hair was unmistakable.

            "Russo!" No doubt. It was him, the former bandit and current guardian of Emperor Rudolf.

            Russo said nothing, instead jumping forward and tackling Herman to the ground. By the time the general looked up, Russo was gone.

            Herman sighed, and sat up on the ground. This was an obvious act of aggression by the Empire. And the fact that Russo had carried it out gave a good chance that the emperor himself was involved. But Rudolf had always favored peace…

            Well, the only way to find out was to ask the emperor himself. Herman had heard that Rudolf and his guardians, namely Russo and Viola, were in the city for a meeting with the Madame President. He'd just have to go and see them himself.

            He heard footsteps approaching. Herman turned to see O'Connell approaching.

            "Sir! We were able to relocate President Camford to a safe location. Did you get a look at the assassin?"

            Herman stared O'Connell in the eyes. "Call Emperor Rudolf. We have an important matter to discuss."

            "Sir, you don't mean to say that this was an attack by the Empire…"

            "That's exactly what I'm saying. It looks like this little period of peace is over."

            O'Connell watched, dumbfounded, as his commanding officer walked off. He couldn't believe that this was happening. The Republic and the Empire were getting along just fine. After all, the Guardian Force had been born from that very alliance…

            The captain sighed, and walked to follow his superior, slowing only to swat away a rather large bug.

            A lone figure watched as the two soldiers walked off. She held out her hand, allowing the bug the captain had swatted away to land there. She smiled. So far, everything was going according to plan…and things were just getting started…

*  *  *  *

            Rudolf gazed longingly out the window of his hotel suite. Sometimes he hated being the emperor. It was such a nice day outside, but he would be stuck inside all day, meeting representatives from a variety of organizations. They were all the same:  long winded speech, a plea for aid, and lots of sucking up. Rudolf listened to them in the past, but lately they'd been so repetitive that he'd just zone out for a while.

            At least he'd be meeting with President Camford today. She was such a nice woman, and a very competent leader. Rudolf wished that he'd be able to lead the Empire someday with the ability she commanded.

            But even a meeting with the Madame President wouldn't be as good as getting into a Zoid and just running around all day…he'd been training with the royal Saber Tiger every now and then, and he liked to think that he'd gotten pretty good. It would be nice to see just how good he'd become…

            Rudolf smiled. He would trade the crown for just one match with Van.

            But alas, fate had decided a life of adventure was not for him. It was now his responsibility to lead the Empire, and there was nothing he could do to change it. At least there was finally peace on Zi…

            Viola walked in the room, looking a bit shaken. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, my emperor," she said.

            Rudolf sighed. He'd always told Russo and Viola to just call him Rudolf. The former bandits were like parents to him.

            "What is it?" Rudolf asked. "You act as if a war has broken out."

            "Well, not yet," she mumbled.

            Suddenly, a man burst into the room. Rudolf recognized him as General Herman, the son of the Madame President and one of the Republic's best Zoid pilots. If Rudolf wasn't a bit worried before, he was now. Herman was always reserved, especially in the presence of leaders.

            "General Herman, sir, what seems to be the problem?" Rudolf asked, his voice shaking a bit.

            Herman was preparing to speak when Russo entered the room, along with Captain O'Connell, another of the Republic's best.

            Herman turned to the two who had entered. "My problem, Emperor Rudolf," he started, pointing directly at Russo, "Is that this man tried to murder my mother!"

            Rudolf gasped. For someone like Herman to burst in and make such an accusation…it was unheard of. Rudolf glanced at Russo. The man seemed as shocked as Rudolf was, if not more.

            "On what grounds do you make this accusation?" Rudolf asked.

            Captain O'Connell stepped forward. "At 11:21AM this morning," he said, "There was an assassination attempt on the Madame President while she was making her weekly address. General Herman was able to protect the President from the sniper, and he pursued the suspect to a nearby alley."

            Herman took over. "I was able to stun the suspect momentarily. I removed his mask, and this man," he said, pointing again at Russo, "was under the mask."

            "That's outrageous!" Russo shouted. "I was still in this hotel until around noon!"

            "It's true," Viola muttered. "He was still asleep."

            Herman looked at Viola. "Did you actually go into his room at any time near the time of the crime?"

            "Well…no, but he always sleeps late…"

            Herman frowned. "But he very well could have snuck out of his room, couldn't he?"

            Rudolf noticed that Russo was getting quite angry. "One second, people," he said, trying to advert a fight. "Were there any other witnesses in the alley?"

            Herman thought for a moment. "No," he said. "We were the only ones there."

            O'Connell looked down. "So it's your word against his…" he said, obviously worried.

            Herman nodded. "Yes. And it's obvious who's more trustworthy here."

            Russo turned to Herman. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he shouted.

            Herman smirked. "Well, I'm a high ranking military officer, the son of an important political leader, and a known hero. You, on the other hand, are a former bandit with plenty of prison records, a mere bodyguard, and can't even go on the battlefield without a cheesy outfit."

            Russo's eyes burned with anger. He grabbed Herman by the collar of his shirt. "You're asking for it…" he warned him.

            "Oh, did I hurt your feelings, oh great Baron of Wings?"

            Russo punched Herman in the jaw, sending him across the room.

            "Russo!" Rudolf shouted.

            Herman wiped the blood off his mouth. "Well, not only are you guilty of attempted murder, but you've assaulted an officer as well."

            Rudolf sighed. "General Herman, until we can get solid evidence on this, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

            Herman turned to the young emperor. "Actually," he said, "the main reason I came here was to see if you had direct involvement with this attack."

            Rudolf glared at the captain. "You know that I would never make any sort of offense toward the Republic. And neither would my assistants."

            Herman smiled, and turned to leave. "Oh, by the way Emperor," he said, "My mother won't be coming by today. We wouldn't want her to put her in danger."

            With that, Herman exited the room.

            Captain O'Connell turned to Rudolf. "I apologize on his behalf, Emperor Rudolf," he said. "I don't know what's come over him…he's usually a lot more open-minded than that."

            "Don't worry about it," Rudolf said with a sigh. "He should calm down eventually. In the meantime, I'll be sure and sent some troops to investigate this matter."

            "As will we," O'Connell promised. "I will personally oversee the investigation." The officer bowed, and then left the room.

            When he was gone, Russo slumped down in a chair. "I can't believe this," he muttered. "You do believe I'm innocent, don't you Rudolf?"

            "I know you are," Rudolf replied. "But then, Herman is not the kind of man who makes wild accusations like this. I fear there is something more sinister involved here."

            Viola leaned against the wall for a moment, worried. "Rudolf, I'm going to head out," she finally said. "I'll go see if I can get some information."

            "Be careful," Rudolf advised her. "The story has probably reached most of the people in the city, so tensions could be high."

            "I'll keep an eye out," Viola promised. With one last glance at Russo, she left the room.

*  *  *  *

            Captain O'Connell rushed to catch up with his superior. "Hey Rob," he said, nearly out of breath, "Don't you think you were a little out of line back there? It's not like you to make accusations like that…"

            Herman spun quickly and grabbed O'Connell by his shirt. "My mother was almost killed today," he said gravely. "And I saw the face of the man who did it. There is no doubt in my mind who the assassin was, and that's why I was acting like that." He calmed a bit, and let O'Connell go.

            "I'm sorry, sir…" O'Connell stammered.

            Herman looked at him, his eyes staring into O'Connell's. "If you ever see a loved one of yours in the sights of a sniper, and you see exactly who the sniper is, we'll see how you react. Then we'll see if I was out of line."

            The general turned and walked away.

*  *  *  *

            Irvine mumbled incoherently as he slowly awaked from his slumber. As he sat up, he immediately grabbed his head. He had one hell of a headache. He glanced around, trying to remember the events of the previous day. The headache was likely either a hangover, or from the fact that he'd left the hotel room's TV on all night. Or maybe both.

            Irvine slumped back against the front of the bed, and glanced at the TV. There was some sort of special news report. He grabbed the remote and turned the television up.

            "…was the scene earlier today in New Helic City," the reporter was saying. "At around 11:30AM today, there was a failed assassination attempt on President Louise Theresa Camford, leader of the Republic."

            That got Irvine's attention.

            "General Rob Herman was able to save his mother just moments before the shot was fired, and he was also able to give chase to the suspect. Reports are sketchy at this point, but there are strong rumors pointing the crime to Russo, one of the Emperor Rudolf's bodyguards."

            "Holy shit," Irvine mumbled. "This isn't looking good."

            "While there is no confirmation as of yet of the Emperor's involvement or the involvement of his aides, old tensions have already flared in the city. Small riots and fights have broken out here and there, Republicans and Imperials duking it out once again."

            Irvine switched the set off, and sat in deep thought for a while. Even though peace had been won after the defeat of the Death Saurer, a small sense of mistrust had remained between the former enemies. Most of the higher-ups had made their peace, hell, Irvine himself had taken a liking to Thomas Shubaltz, one of Van's fellow Guardian Force pilots. And he knew that the Madame President and Rudolf had become good friends.

            But the everyday citizen was a different matter. The same tensions remained, making the peace shaky at best. After all, one of the main purposes of the Guardian Force was to quell the little outbreaks from citizens who decided justice still had not been served. All it would take was one big event like this, and all hell would break out once again.

            Irvine sighed and got up. He didn't know what to do. After all, he didn't answer to the Republic or the Empire. But he knew Van, Moonbay, and the rest would expect him to come if a major situation broke out. And he was a bit curious himself. He'd had a chance to have a few drinks with Russo after the battle with the Death Saurer. Sure, the guy used to be a bandit, but something had happened when he met Rudolf. And Irvine knew that Russo wouldn't do something like this, if only for Rudolf's sake.

            Irvine paid his tab for the night and left the hotel. He started up the Lightning Saix and put it into a good run, heading for New Helic City. He wanted to see things for himself.

*  *  *  *

            O'Connell slumped down onto his bed in his apartment. He didn't know what to think. Herman wouldn't lie, Russo wouldn't lie, but somebody wasn't telling the truth. To make matters worse, the people in the city were already up in arms. A good number of Imperials had moved into New Helic after the war, and this situation could turn the city into a battlefield.

            He had done some searching around the city, but he hadn't discovered anything useful. Most people would just ask him why the Republic Army hadn't already started an attack. O'Connell was a bit disappointed that the citizens of the Republic had already turned against the Empire once again.

            Not that the Empire's people were handling the situation any better. O'Connell hadn't dared to try and investigate in the Imperial part of town…he likely would've been attacked soon after he stepped into the district.

            There was no telling how this situation would turn out. Maybe one of Rudolf's investigators would find something…it would take a good bit of evidence to convince the people now, though.

            O'Connell decided to call it a night. With tensions as they were, there would be nothing he could find out tonight…Herman was planning on calling in some of the Guardian Force tomorrow, so Van and Thomas Shubaltz would be coming in soon. With them helping out, hopefully things would be easier.

            O'Connell got up to head to the shower when he heard a scream coming from outside. He dashed over to his window and looked at the alley below his apartment. A group of four men had trapped a woman in the alley. It was too dark to see any of them, but the woman stepped under a street lamp as she backed away from the men.

            It was Viola.

            O'Connell rushed out of his apartment, stopping briefly to grab something from his shelf. He passed up the elevator and practically dove down the stairway. He quickly pushed the front doors open as he reached the ground floor, and turned the alley. Viola was backed up against a wall now.

            O'Connell stepped over to the men, and cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said in his most commanding voice, "but what do you think you're doing?"

            The four men turned around. One of them must have recognized O'Connell, and he quickly bowed in respect, his cronies soon doing the same.

            "Captain O'Connell, sir," one of them stammered. "We found this woman snooping around in a pub near here. She's one of the Emperor's bodyguards!"

            "I know who she is," O'Connell said, trying to intimidate the men as best he could.

            "Well, we don't want a dirty Imperial wench running around in our capital, right sir? I mean, they tried to kill President Camford!"

            O'Connell hesitated for a moment. These men were getting violent again, now that they had gotten over their initial hesitation after seeing who he was. Herman had unfortunately been quite vocal about his suspicions, and the citizens likely assumed that since O'Connell was his second in command, he would believe the same. O'Connell was going to have to do something drastic here, or else the men would turn on him as well. He thought about the item he had grabbed on his way out, and was glad that he had picked it up…he was going to need it.

            "All right citizens, step back," O'Connell commanded. "It's my duty to take care of a situation like this…so I'll kill her myself."

            The men smiled, happy that they had a military officer on their side. Viola was shocked, and she stared at the captain. "O'Connell…why?" she stammered.

            O'Connell stared back at her. "Shut up, Imperial spy!" he shouted, as he walked forward. "This crime will cost you your life!" O'Connell reached into his uniform, where he kept his gun.

            Viola slumped to the ground in fright. Tears began to fall from her eyes as O'Connell approached her.

            The captain was a bit shocked…maybe he was acting this out too well. Once he had passed the group of men, he gave a quick wink to Viola, causing the woman to look even more confused.

            O'Connell took a quick breath. He was going to have to do this quickly.

            He stopped right in front of Viola, and began to pull something from his uniform. "Prepare to die, Imperial scum," he said.

            He pulled the object out…and quickly spun around on his heels and tossed the smoke bomb right in front of the four men. The bomb opened on impact, releasing a thick smoke into the area around the men.

            O'Connell grabbed Viola's hand and pulled her up. The men would be disoriented by the smoke, but not for long. He broke into a run, pulling Viola behind him.

            By the time the smoke had cleared enough for the men to see again, O'Connell and Viola were halfway up to O'Connell's apartment, and safety.

*  *  *  *

            Russo walked silently to Rudolf's room, the day's events still fresh in his mind. The young Emperor had asked him to come see him, most likely so that they could try to make sense of the situation.

            The former bandit was still very worried…he had stayed inside all day, seeing as how he probably would've been shot had he left the building. All he could do was watch the news. Due to Herman's suspicions, the press was pretty much convinced that Russo was guilty. Neither Viola nor the other investigators had discovered anything, either.

            Russo was a bit worried as he thought of Viola…it was getting late, and she was not back yet. But Russo knew that she could handle herself if a situation arose…but if she had wandered into the Republic side of town, she could be in trouble.

            Russo's thoughts were interrupted as he realized he had reached Rudolf's door. He took a deep breath, and then walked in.

            Rudolf looked up as he entered, and gave the man a quick smile. Russo noticed that the young Emperor looked just as weary as he did, if not more.

            "Come on in, Russo," Rudolf said casually. "Sorry if it's a little cool in here…there was a bug flying around earlier, so I opened the window so it could fly out."

            "It's fine, sir," Russo answered. He noticed Rudolf sigh slowly…he knew that the boy didn't really like being called 'sir.'

            "Anyway," Rudolf continued, "I'm sure you've been following the news coverage of this event?"

            "Yes sir…things don't look too good."

            "No, they don't," Rudolf agreed. "I don't know what exactly we can do about this. The people of the Republic seem to have already made up their minds. I'm actually a bit worried that they might try to attack our embassy here. So, after speaking with the Madame President over the phone, we've agreed that it would be wise to bring the Guardian Force here to investigate."

            That made Russo feel a bit better. If anyone could figure this thing out, it'd be Van Freiheit.

            "In the meantime," Rudolf continued, "We'd like to move you to a different location, for your own safety."

            Russo winced. "Are you sure, Rudolf?" he asked. "I mean, if anyone tries to attack you…"

            Rudolf smiled. "I do have other bodyguards, Russo. Besides, Viola will still be here as well."

            Russo sighed. "I guess that's okay," he said. "When do I leave?"

            "Tomorrow, bright and early," the emperor replied. "So go get some sleep…we all know how much trouble you have getting up early."

            Russo saluted, and began to turn to leave the room. But something didn't seem right…

            He turned back to ask Rudolf something, and froze as he noticed something in the window of the building across from the Imperial Embassy.

            "RUDOLF, GET DOWN!" Russo shouted.

            The young emperor didn't even flinch, and quickly dove down to the floor. He'd been on the battlefield himself, so his instincts were up to par.

            Russo barely remembered to jump out of the way himself as the sniper's bullet passed through where Rudolf had been an instant earlier, and continued through the door of the office. Russo made a quick mental note to beat the hell out of whoever decided to put the Emperor into a room near a window of another building as he rushed to the window. He quickly looked at the distance between the two buildings…he could probably make it.

            "Russo!" Rudolf said, obviously suspecting what the man was going to do. "Are you really going to try that? We're eight floors above ground!"

            Russo did not reply. Instead, he took a deep breath to prepare himself, and then ran towards the window. He dove forward as he approached the window, and quickly heard glass breaking as he landed inside the adjacent building…the stupid bastard had closed the window to slow him down. Russo heard steps on another part of the floor, but chances were that the assassin was already at the stairs. But that wasn't a problem.

            Russo walked back to the window he had dove into, and grabbed the ledge as he pulled himself outside. He glanced down slowly…the window to the seventh floor was right in front of him. He swiftly pushed off the wall with his feet, and let go of the ledge as his feet broke through the window and into the room. He landed on his feet, and didn't stop for an instant as he ran into the nearby hallway. He turned to his left, and saw a figure running towards him in the darkness. Russo smiled. The man was so focused on running that he hadn't noticed Russo.

            The former bandit quickly stepped to the right, and extended his left arm. The assassin slammed right into Russo's arm, and fell to the floor.

            Russo pulled out his lighter and got a flame going as he pulled the man's mask off…and was only slightly surprised as he recognized the man as General Robert Herman.

            "So…I guess you wanted revenge, huh?" Russo said mockingly, as he grabbed Herman's neck and pulled him up until the men saw eye to eye. "But like I told you, I'm innocent!"

            Herman was silent. Russo had expected some sort of smug reply, but he then realized what was going to happen. Herman brought his right leg forward, hitting Russo right in the crotch.

            Russo fell to the ground, and by the time he was able to stand, Herman was gone.

            Russo stood up, and crossed his arms. "Things just got a lot more interesting," he said, and walked towards the stairs to leave the building and report to Rudolf.

            After Russo had left, a woman emerged from the shadows. "Yes, things have gotten interesting," she said, replying to Russo's previous statement.

*  *  *  *

            Irvine glanced at the sky from the cockpit of the Lightning Saix. It was very dark outside. He'd hoped to make it to New Helic by sundown, but that obviously wasn't going to happen now. And judging by what he'd just heard on the radio, it might be good that he hadn't reached the city. After two assassination attempts in one day, riots and street fights were probably at an all time high.

            Irvine mused over the recent report. Russo being an assassin was hard to believe, but the general of the Republican forces being one was even more unbelievable. Irvine knew Herman well too, and he wasn't the type to start killing people either.

            There had to be something more to this. It obviously wasn't the work of some local desert gang, this was much too complex. It would take someone like Prozen to pull this kind of thing off, and he was dead. There was that Hiltz guy and the creepy blue haired chick, but Irvine didn't know what sort of resources they had…this might be out of their league as well.

            Irvine glanced at his radar. He was nearing a Republic outpost. It was the closest one to New Helic City, designed to warn about invading forces and the like. There was a one mile radius around the base that was off limits to civilians and civilian Zoids, but Irvine had received clearance for this kind of stuff, due to his help in the past.

            It was nearly midnight now. Irvine yawned and rubbed his eyes. He was pretty tired now. His eyes were already beginning to play tricks on him, as he thought he saw a dark figure a ways in front of him.

            He glanced again. This was no trick. There was indeed something there. Irvine sat up, fully awake now. He pushed the Saix into a quick run. As he neared the object, he heard it come to life. It was obviously some sort of Zoid. It turned and ran away at top speed.

            Irvine grinned. Obviously this guy didn't know what he was up against. He pulled the Saix up closer to its top speed now, and as he got closer to the Zoid, he shot a flare nearby it. He only got a glance at the Zoid, but he could tell it was a Gun Sniper. Its red color showed that it was neither Republican nor Imperial.

            That was all the information Irvine needed. He broke into top speed, and breezed past the Sniper. After he had a good distance from his target, he spun around and opened fire with his chain gun. The Gun Sniper tried to flee, but it had no chance. Irvine aimed at the legs, crippling the Zoid. He then aimed at and destroyed the tail, as he knew where the Sniper's weapons were. After a few more shots to the body of the Zoid, it raised some sparks and smoke, and crumpled to the ground.

            Irvine led the Saix over to the fallen Zoid, and then jumped out. He climbed up to the cockpit and opened it up. The pilot coughed, and looked at Irvine, fear in his eyes.

            "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, begging for his life. "I'll tell you everything! All about the assassination plans!"

            That got Irvine's attention. "Jackpot," he muttered under his breath. He looked at the pilot. "Tell me what you know," he said, "And I'll see to it that you get a nice life sentence instead of an execution."

            This seemed to satisfy the man. He opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced as a bullet hit him directly in the forehead.

            Irvine looked up at the nearby mountain range. There was a person up there, lowering his sniper rifle. Irvine couldn't see the man in the darkness, but the red organoid next to the man was unmistakable.

            "Ambient. And Hiltz," Irvine muttered. He jumped off of the wreckage and headed for the Lightning Saix. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red organoid fly up into the air and enter a Reddler that was parked on the mountaintop. It quickly took off and headed in the opposite direction of New Helic City.

            Irvine sighed, and started up the Saix. He wouldn't be going to New Helic after all. He broke into a run and headed in the same direction Hiltz had gone.

*  *  *  *

            "Thank you," Viola said breathlessly as she slumped down into a chair in O'Connell's apartment.

            "No problem," the captain replied as he securely locked the door to his apartment. "But why in the hell were you out in this part of town with things like they are now?"

            Viola sighed. "I just wanted to find something to help out Russo…I never knew I was so well-known in the Republic…I figured no one would recognize me."

            "Oh well, it's over now," O'Connell said. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV set. "For now, just relax. We'll see how the story is going on the news stations."

            The news reporter was talking with a Republican lieutenant about the situation when he was suddenly handed a paper from off-screen. The reporter glanced at the paper and gasped. "Holy shi…" he said, stopping himself just in time.

            He then looked at the camera, too shocked to be embarrassed. "Ladies and gentlemen, I've received some distressing news. According to this bulletin, an assassination attempt was just made on Emperor Rudolf's life."

            "Oh my god," Viola gasped, while O'Connell dropped the glass of water he had been pouring.

            The reporter continued. "The emperor was unharmed thanks to the help of his bodyguard Russo, the same man under suspicion for the attack on the Madame President this morning. Russo gave chase, and reported that the man who had fired the shot was none other than General Rob Herman."

            "Talk about irony," O'Connell muttered under his breath.

            "The situation here is the same as it is with the earlier assassination attempt:  one man's word against another," the reporter said. "Obviously, this changes quite a bit. We'll pause for a brief commercial, and then we'll have more information when we return."

            O'Connell sighed. "It's obvious that there's something odd going on here. Herman wouldn't try to kill Rudolf, regardless of what happened this morning. But I know Russo wouldn't lie either."

            Viola nodded in agreement. "What do you propose we do?"

            "Well, I doubt we'll get any info here. Besides, Van and Thomas are going to be called in tomorrow, so they'll investigate New Helic themselves." O'Connell thought for a moment. "I've got an idea, but it's a long shot."

            Viola shrugged. "We don't have any other ideas at the moment. What are you thinking?"

            "I'd like to go see Doctor D. He always seems to know what's going on…maybe he can help."

            "Then we'll leave in the morning," Viola said as she stood up and headed for O'Connell's bedroom.

            "Wait, where are you going?" the captain asked.

            Viola looked back at him. "You don't expect me to go back out there, do you? I'm going to have to stay here."

            "Well, where do I sleep?"

            "The couch, of course," Viola said, smiling sweetly. "Good night," she said, closing the door behind her.

            O'Connell sighed, and walked to the kitchen to grab a beer. He needed it after today.

*  *  *  *

END OF CHAPTER 1

Next Chapter: O'Connell and Viola continue to investigate the assassinations, Herman and Russo are locked up, Irvine continues to track Hiltz, and Van and Thomas finally get in on the action!