Every Last Mother's Child
Page 200
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Jill was in class, World history, when her protective detail swarmed into the class room and took up positions near the door and the back of the room. Jenny spoke into the instructor’s ear, Sergeant Hanks, a retired Militia NCO was teaching the class. He turned and looked at the agent who just nodded.
“Colonel Wilson you are dismissed,” the instructor said, “Colonel, my prayers are with you and your family.”
“Thank you sir,” Jill picked up her belongings and left with the protective detail wondering what was up. She knew something was up but knew now wasn’t the time to ask questions. They hustled her out to the quad where a landing craft was waiting light on gear for her. It surprised her that it was sitting on the quad not on the landing pad. When she was seated and secured, she asked, “What’s going on?”
Before Jenny could answer they heard an explosion.
“Pilot! Get us out of here now.” Jenny yelled as she turned to Jill.
“We have a Mountain Event.” Jenny replied using the code phrase for a national emergency. It was the code phrase Jill had been taught to listen for, “we were instructed to pick you up and get you to the palace.”
“We have an insurrection or something?” Jill asked.
Jenny’s instructions were to get her charge to the palace, not to tell her charge that her step mother had been kidnapped and her grandmother injured. It went against everything she knew to be right not to tell her. Jill was like a niece to her. That made her decision easier, “Jill, Lady Wilson was kidnapped about twenty minutes ago,”
“Oh fuck,” Jill cursed and got a stern look from her agent, “How’s dad?”
“Not certain,” The agent said, “but he said to get you back to the palace.”
“Was any of the detail harmed?” Jill asked. There were a couple of agents on her step mother’s detail that she liked. Georgia in particular.
“They used a stun grenade to take the detail down.” The agent replied.
“Stun grenade,” Jill said she had once suffered a stun grenade blast. She had been some place where she wasn’t supposed to be, near a training area on Mars where the marines were having war games. They were not fun to suffer through. The killer headache would be around for at least a day. Then it dawned on her. Lisa would have been hit with the grenade also, “Jenny, what happens when a pregnant woman gets hit with one of them?”
“Spontaneous labor if they are within the last month of their pregnancy,” Jenny said, “But Lady Wilson was still a couple of months form delivery. She is a biowoman, and from what I know her type of biowoman is somewhat immune to those effects. It might not be fun; but she shouldn’t lose the children.”
“Anyone else hurt?” Jill asked as the LC landed on the palace pad.
“Your grandmother,” the agent said, “she was shot. I don’t know more than that.”
“Look!” Tom was point out the window where a pall of smoke was filling the sky near the academy.
“What the hell is going on?” Le’Gant, normally their driver asked.
Jill took her phone out and spoke into it, “Dad priority one,” She told the phone. The phone would call her father’s phone and even if it was shut off for a meeting it would come on. Seconds later his voice came on the phone. “You heard.”
“Jenny told me,” Jill said, “Dad, are you at the palace?”
“Yes. Where are you?” Mike asked his daughter.
“I am on the palace pad.” Jill said, “Dad. Get your bones out here. Jenny, please tell the pilots to stand by to take us where grand mom is being treated.”
“Aye-Aye,” Jenny walked to the front of the landing craft where the pilots were.
“You’re right. I’ll be there in a minute.” Mike replied.
“What about Abby,” Jill asked.
“She’s staying with Sally” her father answered.
In minutes the Marshal with his detail, and personal assistant were on the landing craft, he stopped by the pilots and commanded “Take us to the Valliant.”
“Aye,” the pilot replied, “All stations, combat lift!” With that the landing craft took off. As it sped to the orbiting hospital ship; four Sassies surrounded the landing craft. No one was going to get to the Marshal and his family this time.
The landing craft landed aboard the Valliant about an hour after it lifted from the palace pad. They were met by the ship’s captain.
“Sir Mike,” the captain greeted Marshal Wilson, “I wish you were coming aboard under different circumstances.”
“So do I captain,” Mike Wilson responded, “any news about mom?”
“Admiral Wilson is still in surgery,” The captain answered, “the chief surgeon is operating on her. It’ll be a couple of hours before we know any more than she took a round in arm and lost a lot of blood. She’s critical but stable.”
“Critical; but stable,” Mike replied. He knew that was not good news; but not bad news either. His mother was alive and in surgery. She wouldn’t be in surgery if she wasn’t stable. All he could do was find somewhere to wait until there was news about his mother.
“Marshal if you will come this way,” The captain pointed to a hatch, “we have conference room set aside for your use.”
“Thank you,” Marshal Wilson replied.
They trooped to a conference room where a young ensign was assigned to stay with them. Liz her father’s secretary captured a computer terminal and handled the com traffic that was still bombarding her father.
Hours later a softly spoken voice woke Jill up. “Marshal Wilson.”
“Keep your voice down please,” Mike asked,
“Stephen?” She saw the young bioboy that Rhonda was seeing. Rhonda had told her the boy’s name.
“Hi colonel,” The bioboy responded. “Kellogg sent me up to be with you.”
“Kellogg sent you up?” the Marshal asked.
“Yes sir,” The young gamma clone said, “he wanted to make sure that you were not disturbed. He also has some information for you. He didn’t think the Evac would let him on the Valliant; but thought I could get aboard.”
She knew who Kellogg was. He was a retired closer who now worked with the Evacuation Command. His job had been to hunt down closers and help resolve some of the more darker issues affecting the bio engineering community during the evacuation.
“It was Hozenbur marshal,” the kid said, “She hasn’t made contact yet; but as she didn’t leave Lady Wilson behind, Mr. Kellogg has some hope that she won’t be killed outright.”
Her father starred at him. He gently got up and left. Jill could see the furry in her father’s face. She had never seen her father that furious. She turned to the young clone.
The young man said sitting down. “I am so sorry to hear about your mother. The Freedom association is trying to find her; but the witch who has got her has gone to ground. But we’ll find her Miss Wilson.”
“Thank you,” Jill said, “Would you give a message to Mr. Kellogg for me.”
“Sure!” Stephan replied.
“Please keep me informed of the progress you guys make. I want to be kept in the loop.” Jill said.
“I’ll let him know.” Stephan said.
A few minutes later her father came in with the chief surgeon. “We have some news.”
“Okay,” Jill replied a little upbeat praying that being up beat matched her hopes for her grandmother.
“Your grandmother took hits in her right arm. The hits were through and through. One did hit the bone and the artery. It bled a bit and that was what caused your grandmother pass out. She lost quite a bit of blood. But we have it under control and have cloned enough of her own blood to get her volume up. We have given her some nanobots. They will repair most of the damage that was done.”
“How long do you think she will be here?” Her father asked.
“A week,” the surgeon said, “We’re going to keep her under while the ‘bots are in. She is stable and she should recover 100%. She s
houldn’t have the problems she had thirty years ago. The damage is different and we’ve improved about tenfold.”
“Can we see her?” Jill asked.
“We have her in isolation Colonel Wilson,” The surgeon replied. “You’ll be able to see her in a couple of days. We have quarters ready for you…”
“That’s fine, but we’ll be returning to the palace. You folks don’t need me up here, and I have an evacuation to run.” Her father said, “Ensign would you ask flight ops to lay on a bird to get us back home?”
“Uh Marshal,” the ensign said, “The elsy you came up in is ready to dock and take you aboard.”
Her father asked, “Please tell the pilot we’re ready to go home.”
“Will do sir,” the ensign said.
Jill turned to Stephan and asked, “Do you need a ride?”
“If the Marshal doesn’t mind,” Stephan asked
“Not at all,” Mike said as they walked to the flight deck.