Every Last Mother's Child
Page 176
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The next day she was sitting on a bench, in Trenaport’s Fire Fighters’, and Police Officers’ Memorial, in front of the eternal flame, appearing for all intents and purposes to be a mourner, mourning the loss of a loved one or friend. It was there that he contacted her. She was actually enjoying the quiet serenity of the memorial park when he contacted her.
“Hi Ma,” the man greeted the older woman on the park bench. “How you been?”
“Okay,” Martha played her part of a still grieving widow. She stood and hugged the younger man. “I miss your father more and more.”
“So do I!” her “son” responded. They wandered around the memorial for a few minutes stopping at sculpture of a long dead fighter who died in the line of duty. After a bit they walked away from the park to a small restaurant, where over coffee, the agents got down to business.
“We have a proposal for you,” the man said to Hozenbur.
“What sort of proposal,” Hozenbur asked.
“When you take Lady Wilson,” the agent replied, “It would help the republic if you wouldn’t kill her straight out; but to distract the Marshal, and his staff while the republic attacks the Kingdom.”
Martha wasn’t so sure the invasion was such a good idea. The Kingdom’s defense forces, and it allies currently in the system wouldn’t have and trouble taking on the republic even with the distraction of the Evacuation.
“If you can keep the Marshal and his staff distracted,” the agent continued, “there will be a ship waiting to get you off world and away from Trena.”
She was silent for a few minutes. The weakest part of her whole plan of closing the halfwit’s file was getting away safely. This would give her an option she didn’t now have. She nodded, stood up, leaving a tip she went to pay the bill when she left. She had no idea that the republic had no intention of helping this terrorist off of Trena.
Book 11: Fall Out