Halley spoke of her suspicions to Jaana Reese, who had returned late in the night, and they agreed to watch the refrigeration units for further tampering.
In the afternoon, Matsushida took his fiancee and friends to the Old Quarter of Escoral, a section of the city that dates back to pre-Conversion times in Li Halan history. Halley spent time at the Agora, purchasing machine parts for her projects and obtaining a new cannister of Ka-plant oil for Jaana's weapon.
Matsushida gave the others a grand tour of Li Halan history, showing them the Prophet's Cathedral, the Walk of Ages, and the Museum of Righteous Progress, and providing colorful commentary on certain historical details left out of most modern accounts.
The next morning, Halley discovered that the refrigeration unit had been opened again, and the slippy fanbelt had been cut. There was no other mark of tampering, and the situation puzzled her. Removing the fan belt would only cause the refrigeration unit to fail over the course of a few weeks, and the redundant systems meant that it could cause little harm. What could be the saboteur's motive? After fixing the trouble, Jaana and Halley whipped up an adhesive powder to mark the next person to open the refrigeration unit's access panel.
Mero Anoth, the Countess's steward, began posting a servant by the pantryhouse to watch the units. Halley herself stood watch around the corner for the rest of the day and that night, joined by Jaana at nightfall.
Matsushida spent more time in the city with Gwendolyn, purchasing a fine hunting rifle as a present to her, for their planned hunting expedition. That evening, they attended the Opera.
The following day was Sunday, and the Nobles confessed to their respective priests before driving into Escoral's Old Quarter for late Mass at the Prophet's Cathedral.
The group stayed up late, starwatching. Around midnight, faint noises drew Matsushida and Gwen's attention, and then the others. Creeping to the source, they discovered a dark figure placing something inside the much maligned refrigeration unit. As he finished his work, the figure rose and turned toward Gwen in her hiding place and pointed a gun at her. Halley's stunner came out as the man fired, but his shot was incinerated by her invisible energy shield.
Halley's stunner beam clipped him as the man took off running with Gwendolyn, Matsushida and Jaana in pursuit. Halley turned toward the machinery to undo whatever the man had done. Finding the package, she quickly identified it as an explosive--though it was wrapped in paper and she suspected that it might trigger if she opened it. Halley tossed the package away from the Countess's estate, and turned toward the house as gunfire errupted nearby.
Gwendolyn chased the saboteur and caught up to him when he stumbled over a pipe in a 2m deep trench. She fell upon him with ferocity, pummeling him as her fiancee and her bodyguard arrived.
Halley found Matsushida's valet wounded on the ground, and bent low to hear him whisper 'Sniper' whereupon she marched into the darkened house, went straight up the stairs to Gwendolyn's room and grabbed her lady's new hunting rifle and a box of shells. The Countess Leanora met her, while strapping on an old breastplate and sword. The two left the house; Leanora to the back yard where a firefight was visible, and Halley to the roof.
She found the sniper immediately, put a round into his back, and took the man's night vision goggles. Then halley set about identifying foes in the firefight below, and eliminating them. She recognized one of the rebels as a servant of the Countess--but he was firing an SMG at Leanora's security people, so Halley shot him.
Gwendolyn and Matsushida left their captive in Jaana's hands and returned to the estate to see a red-orange glow. Coming closer, they saw that the Countess and her men had set fire to the hedge maze after cornering the rebels inside.
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