Free The Ghost Rebellion by Tee Morris Pip Ballantine Page B

you think, Agent Pujari?”
    “ Resistance factions, Agent Books, is too polite, especially in the case of recent events in Bombay. Civilian targets are becoming more common, and that captured the attention of Parliament. Featherstone undertook the challenge with great delight.”
    “ How long—” and then Eliza was sent sliding into Wellington. He adjusted his bowler, hideously off-balance as he had forgotten about the isotope detectors still resting across the hatband. “How long has Featherstone been involved in the making and manufacturing of weapons for the Empire?” she asked, straightening her tiny hairpiece.
    Vania opened a folio resting on top of a modest pile of case files and flipped through a few pages. “At least three years.”
    “ That corroborates with our own notes concerning Featherstone. He had been referred to Jekyll by the Duke of Sussex.” She then looked into the dossier Vania had open before her. “Have you all had any reports of malfunctioning munitions? Any sort of accidents or problems in the performance of these new weapons?”
    “ None,” Vania said.
    Wellington caught glances of various photos and schematics. Rifles, pistols, and even personnel armour, all of it carrying the signature of Lord Featherstone. Jekyll would have known about all of these technological marvels from inception to application. So much trust had been invested into Featherstone, and now every soul in the British Army and the Ministry were in potential danger.
    Vania looked up. “What did you discover from Featherstone while on the African Sunset?”  
    “ Not a great deal,” Eliza said. “His room on the cruise ship yielded an appointment book—from the looks of the notes he kept, they were all of a deeply personal nature—and he was to meet with Jekyll two days from now.”
    “ He has an apartment,” Wellington said, “in a rather questionable section of Bombay, from what I read.”
    Vania closed the dossier. “Then I suppose you have a bit of time to take in a few sights while we wait for Jekyll to appear.”
    “ I have no intention,” Wellington stated, his tone low but still audible over the noise, “of waiting for the doctor.”
    An uncomfortable silence settled between the three of them, but Wellington did not mind it so much. Agent Pujari knew only of Jekyll through field reports. He did not have that luxury.
    Through thick tuffs of steam rising from their transport’s undercarriage, he noticed they were now crossing an open expanse just outside of the port city. Larger mountains could be seen in the distance, while the uneven land, greener than he would have expected but punctuated by hints of brown and beige earth, made their travel that much more difficult.
    “ We’re just on the outskirts of the Hornby Vellard,” Vania said, also taking a look outside her window. “We have an appointment with Lieutenant General Lawrence Southerby, the officer in charge of the troops in the Bombay area. The only person above him in India is General Sir William Lockhart, who is Commander-in-Chief at Fort William in Calcutta.”
    “ Being in charge, wouldn’t he prefer to command the troops from inside Bombay itself?” Wellington asked. Eliza furrowed her brow at the question. “It is not uncommon for a Lieutenant General to live outside the fort in a somewhat more salubrious accommodation.”
    “ Lieutenant General Southerby is an uncommon commander,” Vania said, “or he believes the Empire is at war. He insists on staying close to his men.”
    “ Really?” He sat back in his seat, pulling at the hairs of his close-cropped beard. “Rather telling, I would say.”
    Eliza folded her arms. “So, how is Southerby a person of interest?”
    “ Southerby was a direct contact of Featherstone’s.” Vania said. “If Featherstone ever had new designs or was making a delivery here in Bombay, he would only speak to the Lieutenant General.”
    A muscle in Wellington’s jaw twitched. Vania looked at