by S. E. Weir
Diplomatic Recruit
The Empress’ Spy™ Book One
S.E. Weir
Michael Anderle
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2021 LMBPN Publishing
Cover by Mihaela Voicu http://www.mihaelavoicu.com/
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
This book is a Michael Anderle Production
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
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Las Vegas, NV 89109
Version 1.00, June, 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-1-64971-821-1
Print ISBN: 978-1-64971-822-8
The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2015-2021 by Michael T. Anderle and LMBPN Publishing.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
The Story Continues
Author Notes - S.E. Weir
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Acknowledgments
Connect with The Authors
Books By Michael Anderle
The Diplomatic Recruit Team
Thanks to our Beta Readers:
Larry Omans, Jim Caplan, Micky Cocker, Rachel Beckford, John Ashmore, Kelly O’Donnell, Mary Morris, Rachel Heise, Ron Gailey
Thanks to the JIT Readers
Daryl McDaniel
Deb Mader
Jim Caplan
Wendy L Bonell
Diane L. Smith
Micky Cocker
Misty Roa
Dorothy Lloyd
Zacc Pelter
Jeff Goode
Peter Manis
Larry Omans
Dave Hicks
If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!
Editor
Lynne Stiegler
Dedication
To all those who have supported and encouraged me every step of the way. This is as much your book as mine.
- S.E. Weir
To Family, Friends and
Those Who Love
To Read.
May We All Enjoy Grace
To Live The Life We Are
Called.
—Michael
Prologue
QBBS Meredith Reynolds
Phina nudged Alina toward the door of the apartment. “Come on, let’s go. Just remember to tone down the squeals when you see all the guys.”
Alina smacked Phina’s arm at the ribbing but smiled as she turned to walk out. She raised a fist in the air. “Phinalina is leaving the building!”
Phina smirked at the name. When the two of them were in grade school, the girls were teased about their names rhyming and being together so much instead of playing with the other kids. Rather than being offended, the girls thought it was an awesome moniker and adopted it, using it as their code name for their adventures they had enacted over their many years of friendship. Since they were embarking on Phinalina’s last childhood adventure before they both turned eighteen, it was very fitting to use the name now. Phina caught up to her friend outside the door as they began to walk the few miles to their target location within the space station Meredith Reynolds. She stuck her fist out.
“Phinalina forever!”
Alina grinned and brought hers up for a fist bump. “Phinalina forever!”
They walked down the lightly traveled residential corridor toward the lifts. People moved through the corridor that crossed theirs ahead.
“Hey, Phina?”
“Hmmm?” She had been thinking about what they would soon be walking into. She wanted to be prepared.
“What about Maxim?” Alina’s eyes sparkled, and she gave Phina a smile.
Phina blinked. “What about him?”
“He could be the guy for you. He’s super-hot, even if he is a little older, but he’s a Were, so that doesn’t really matter!” She grinned playfully.
Phina was already shaking her head. “No.”
“Ronnie Diamantz? He’s super-smart!”
Phina glowered at Alina. “No.” They reached the end of the corridor and mixed with the crowd, dodging a Karillian in a hurry. His three eye stalks waved at them in irritation.
“Peter Silvers?”
Phina sighed, wondering how long her friend would keep trying to set her up with other guys. Alina had been trying to convince Phina to relax and ease up on her laser-focused goal of becoming a spy. Phina had told her only someone extremely interesting and talented in their own right would be likely to catch her interest. The likelihood of that happening, to Phina’s mind, was as rare as seeing a mythical unicorn. Alina’s face brightened; she probably thought she was interested since she didn’t respond right away. But…
“No.”
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Marines’ Workout Area
“Which of you would like to spar first?” The large and obviously well-trained man in front of them smiled as if he knew something that amused him. What he thought he knew, Phina wasn’t sure. Probably that what they knew about sparring could fill a teacup. Crumbs, more like a shot glass.
The girls had ended up taking the tram in deference to Alina’s lack of athleticism. When they arrived, they had gotten through the guarded door without a problem, thanks to the well-made passes Phina had completed that morning. The armored men had given Phina curious glances and Alina admiring ones, and Alina had looked and flirted back. That was fine with Phina; she was used to it. She generally just did her thing while Alina attracted attention and drew people in. It was a good thing flirting her way into places wasn’t required in most of the areas Phina accessed since she would have failed miserably. Alina was masterful even when she wasn’t trying.
The two girls were the same height and close to the same weight, but where Alina’s weight was in her curves, Phina’s was mostly in her muscles. Her body had become very toned from climbing all over the space station and exercising, so any curves she had were more like definitions of her muscles.
Phina wasn’t jealous about Alina’s looks or the attention she got. In fact, she was relieved when attention was diverted from her. Phina preferred to be overlooked so she could do her own thing, usually something she didn’t want others to notice anyway.
Of course, if Ph
ina ever did find that mythical extremely talented, and interesting man, she might change her mind.
She didn’t give that scenario very good odds, however.
After a wrong turn past the men on duty, they finally made it into the Marines’ and Guardians’ workout area. Phina had poked Alina again after entering to remind her not to squeal. They were Marine recruits today, not fangirls. Posing as recruits was the only method Phina had been able to think of to get the two of them into this restricted room.
It was a struggle, but Alina did keep the squeals inside, although her eyes grew wider. There were so many tall, strong, and attractive men in various positions and locations on the mats and workout equipment. There were women in the room too, but Alina’s eyes lingered on the men. To her delight, their muscles were exposed, and many had their shirts off, per Alina’s hopes. Phina sighed inside since she didn’t understand her friend’s obsession, although she was happy that she had helped Alina’s wish come true.
After being greeted and ushered over to an open mat by Todd, the tall and overly muscled man had asked the question Phina now considered. She looked at Alina, who appeared to be torn between being thrilled to be in the secured room, leering at the men working out across the room, and being terrified she would be called on first.
Phina pursed her lips, then looked at the man in front of them, noticing the neatly trimmed crewcut. “I will.” She might as well give Alina a few more minutes before they were found out and escorted out of the area. Alina wasn’t equipped for any sort of sparring.
As Alina liked to say, her sport came with shopping bags and a credit card.
Todd moved to the middle of the mat and gestured for Phina to follow. She faced the large man and copied his stance, bringing her arms up and fisting her hands. It felt awkward. Todd’s face had turned assessing and distant, and his blue eyes probably saw more than Phina wanted him to. She didn’t know what to do next, so she just waited.
He sent his fist toward her head. Without thinking, Phina flung herself back as muscle memory took over, hands reaching behind her for the mat. She completed a back-extension roll and popped up several feet from where she had started.
Phina braced herself for another blow before she realized Todd just stood watching her with a look of surprised interest on his face. She quickly decided his interest wasn’t a good thing when he leaned forward and swept her feet with a low kick. Phina almost didn’t make it, but she jumped higher and more quickly than he expected. Than she had expected, for that matter. Her eyes darted around as she rose in the air, and she found the perfect spot to go next.
She moved her foot forward to vault off Todd’s head, but he grabbed at her ankle. His hand had only just slipped off when she flipped. His quick grab had stalled her motion, though, so instead of landing on the floor behind him, she landed half on his back, pushing him down a little more. She had been lucky to complete the rotation.
Realizing she needed to get off before he recovered, Phina flung herself into an aerial somersault and twisted so she landed facing her opponent rather than away from him. She sighed in relief that she had been able to complete the move since it was tricky to jump off a shifting and precarious base.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Alina smiling and looking amazed, then Phina noted the sudden quiet in the room. She had a feeling all those eyes were now looking in her direction, not resting on Alina as had been her plan. Phina nervously assessed Todd as he straightened after her hasty move. His face appeared surprised, curious, and…determined. Uh-oh! Fudging piles of…
Todd moved even faster to close the distance, and her body barely responded in time. Somehow she blocked the strike to her face with crossed arms, though it hurt so badly she wondered if he had broken something. She failed to block the following punch to her belly and slammed onto the floor several feet away. Fudge in a bucket!
As Phina lay on the mat catching her breath and wishing she had thought to train herself in martial arts as well as the spycraft she had been obsessed with throughout her teen years, she heard footsteps come closer. She lifted her chin to see who was walking up behind her. The view was upside down, but she knew it wasn’t the man who had just put her on the floor. She tilted her head to the side when she couldn’t comprehend what her brain tried to tell her. When she recognized the giant mountain of a man, she realized she just hadn’t wanted to.
Fudging crumbs! Her head dropped back to the mat and she moaned. She was dead.
“Come with me.” The huge man watched Phina for a moment before turning to Alina. “Both of you.” Alina paled but walked toward him while Phina began to push herself up, wincing when her stomach muscles protested. But when John Grimes told you to move, you complied.
Todd stood above her with his hand extended and a small smile on his face. She took a moment to decide but grasped the offered hand and pulled herself up, cringing at the soreness in her belly and arms. He spoke in a low tone so that only she could hear. Well, there were Wechselbalg around, so who knew what they heard.
“Sorry. I think I hit harder than I meant to, but nice job. Add some good punches into your arsenal, and you’ll be doing well.”
Phina began to smile but remembered John Grimes was waiting for her. She nodded in thanks, then turned to follow Alina.
As Phina approached the door, she glanced back to find Todd watching her. As her eyes connected with his, a flare of something she couldn’t put a name to crossed his face. Phina had a feeling she would see him again. She just hoped it wouldn’t end with his fist in her stomach as it had today. She put a hand to her sore stomach with a grimace and followed John Grimes out the door.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Lance Reynold’s Office
Alina had been told to head home, and she left with a worried glance back toward Phina. The girl nodded at her best friend and followed the large man to another section of the station. Her eyes began to wander as she noticed the area he led her to seemed more official, which caused her nervousness to grow. As Phina walked into the room John Grimes had brought her to, her eyes darted to the man on the other side of the desk.
Holy crumbs!
General Lance Reynolds. Empress Bethany Anne’s father. The man who had almost single-handedly built the Empire’s military from the small force of around forty people on Earth to the group of tens of thousands it was today, almost thirty years later. Well, Empress Bethany Anne had done a lot to make that happen too, and Dan Bosse had handled most of the logistics, but it was well-known her father had taken the reins for her in the day-to-day matters.
In short, the General was the second most important and powerful person in the entire Empire. And he was standing…er, sitting right in front of her. Before Phina could gather her wits to leave, the door shut behind her. She was stuck.
General Reynolds pointed with his cigar at a metal ergonomic chair on the other side of his desk. “Sit down, please.”
As she walked to the chair he had indicated, Phina realized a poised woman had been sitting off to the side, looking rather elegant in a dress suit. The woman faced the General, so Phina thought it likely they had been talking before she entered the room.
While Phina sat on the surprisingly comfortable seat, the man put the stub of the cigar back in his mouth and looked at her. She felt uneasy, certain he was assessing everything. She wished she had the ability to read minds Bethany Anne was rumored to possess.
Only in the sporadic and very cryptic files she had found on back channels, of course.
The General took the cigar out again and pointed it at her. “So, Seraphina Grace Waters.” He tilted the tip up as he inclined his head and considered her. “’Phina Waters.’ ‘Sera Waters.’ Pretty name.”
She sat very still and tried to keep her surprise from showing on her face. Phina wondered if he was trying to point out that he knew all the variations she had used on the identification and passes she had made for herself over the past several years. If so, touché, General.
“Thanks,
but I can’t take any credit for my name. That was all my parents.”
The deceptively young-looking man smiled in appreciation. “True.” He sobered and looked regretful. “I’m sorry you lost both of them. We do try to keep from deploying both parents at the same time. I’m not sure how we missed them.”
Phina nodded, appreciating the thought, then shrugged. “It was what they wanted. They had different last names, and both wanted to serve in the Marines. They knew what they were signing up for, and they could have asked for a reassignment if they had wanted one.”
“Well, we appreciate their service and sacrifice.” He looked at her sharply but with a note of understanding. “Just as we appreciate that you no longer hold Bethany Anne or the rest of us to blame for any mistakes that were made.”
Phina’s eyes widened in surprise. Just how much did they know about her? She became even more unsettled. The General nodded and gestured at the woman near him.
“I was going to handle this myself, but I need to take care of another situation. Those damned Leath are on the move again. This is Anna Elizabeth Hauser. She now knows everything I know and will ask you more questions to determine what we should do with you.” He gave her a look she could have interpreted as either “Don’t screw up” or “You’re already screwed, so you might as well tell us everything.” Her stomach dropped as she thought of all the possible things they could decide to do with her.
