Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
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Part 106, Chapter 1726
Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Six
22nd May 1966
Mitte, Berlin
An invitation to have tea with the Empress was not something to be taken lightly, not even by Kat. Normally, she avoided entanglements like those because just being seen interacting socially with Charlotte caused a great deal of speculation by observers of the Imperial Court. Their stock in trade was telling the tabloid press of who was in or out of favor and what that portended for the coming season. This time though, Kat had her own reasons to accept the invitation. She wanted to see how Nan was adjusting.
When Kat stepped off the express elevator on the floor that the Imperial family lived on, she had the guards snap to attention seconds before Nella and Nan ran out and hugged her. The contrast was a bit startling. It was good to see Nan looking somewhat happy in her new surroundings, but as Charlotte told her a few minutes later, it was hardly all sweetness and light. It was obvious that Charlotte was taking the perspective of a Social Worker seeing Nan as a particularly troublesome case as well as a mother who found herself with a distressed child. That was fortunate because Nan was in desperate need of both.
“Every time Annett does something that draws the attention of an adult, she expects that it will result in some sort of painful punishment and reacts accordingly” Charlotte said, “I’m sure you’ve heard about what the Dentist said about her jaw, it has been difficult.”
“Yes” Kat replied. Apparently, Nan’s jaw had been broken sometime in the past. It had healed well but that was hardly a comforting thought, considering the sort of monster who would do something like that to a small child.
“She also has several hiding places picked out around this apartment” Charlotte said, “Many of them in places that I would have assumed are too small for her to squeeze into.”
“You might find this hard to believe” Kat said, “But that is actually a talent that the KSK looks for.”
Charlotte gave Kat a look that suggested that she didn’t have a whole lot of appreciation for that observation.
“Regardless” Charlotte said, “When the Nurse notices that she is missing first thing in the morning, I get to join the search.”
“It’s because she is frightened” Kat replied.
“I just wish she would come to me, like Nella would.”
Kat looked at her and realized that Nan’s difficulty trusting Charlotte was something that bothered her.
“What would you say to the guardian of a traumatized child in a situation like this?” Kat asked.
“To be patient” Charlotte replied, “Not exactly easy to do.”
“I’m sure that by now you’ve seen a few encouraging signs.”
“I’ve seen that she bonded with Kristina” Charlotte said, “Louis and Friedrich have tried to show her a good example what men are supposed to be like, as opposed to that wretch of a biological father…”
It was hardly a surprise that Charlotte would reveal a touch of anger at that individual. The fact that Charlotte was pointedly stating that there was only a biological connection spoke volumes. Still, involving Kiki at this time might not be a great idea. Sure, she was close in age to Nan’s mother but from what Kat had seen, Kiki was in a state of near panic as she got closer to completing Medical School. While Kat had no doubt that Kiki would pass with flying colors, she had talked with Louis about having her sit on a beach somewhere. Sending her to the South of France again was perhaps the best call. Someplace where she wouldn’t feel the need to take the weight of the world onto her shoulders for a couple of months. Call it a reward and make Kiki board the train kicking and screaming if they had to.
It seemed like the alternative would be to see Kiki finally succeed in burning herself out.
“You’re looking forward to the Summer Holiday?” Kat asked, changing the subject.
“Louis needs to play the role of High King in the South Pacific” Charlotte replied, “A couple months in the Caroline Islands, it is not all fun and games though. There is a meeting of the Eastern Pacific Pact that he is hosting.”
Kat was already aware of that. The meeting of all the Governments of the region minus China, whose containment had prompted the formation of the Pact in the first place.
“That sounds better than what I get to contend with” Kat replied, “I’ve an eighteen-year-old who is learning that adult relationships are a lot more complicated than she imagined. After months of pounding that into her brain, I finally got her to listen. Unfortunately, she sent a letter to her boyfriend saying that they needed to talk with predictable results.”
“That would be Suse Rosa, your Goddaughter?” Charlotte asked, “And she would be involved with your nephew Manfred?”
“You knew about that?” Kat asked in reply.
“Manfred Johannes is one of several Godsons that Louis has” Charlotte replied, “After recent events, we aren’t taking any chances with having one of them engaging in activities that might become embarrassing. There has been a lot of vetting going on.”
Meaning that they didn’t want their own version of what happened in Bavaria. Better to learn of it now, cut someone loose and make a quiet arrest before it became a spectacle.
“I wasn’t aware that it had already began” Kat replied.
“You are seen as being too close this time Katherine” Charlotte replied, “And you know full well that you are not the only fixer who Louis employs.”
22nd May 1966
Mitte, Berlin
An invitation to have tea with the Empress was not something to be taken lightly, not even by Kat. Normally, she avoided entanglements like those because just being seen interacting socially with Charlotte caused a great deal of speculation by observers of the Imperial Court. Their stock in trade was telling the tabloid press of who was in or out of favor and what that portended for the coming season. This time though, Kat had her own reasons to accept the invitation. She wanted to see how Nan was adjusting.
When Kat stepped off the express elevator on the floor that the Imperial family lived on, she had the guards snap to attention seconds before Nella and Nan ran out and hugged her. The contrast was a bit startling. It was good to see Nan looking somewhat happy in her new surroundings, but as Charlotte told her a few minutes later, it was hardly all sweetness and light. It was obvious that Charlotte was taking the perspective of a Social Worker seeing Nan as a particularly troublesome case as well as a mother who found herself with a distressed child. That was fortunate because Nan was in desperate need of both.
“Every time Annett does something that draws the attention of an adult, she expects that it will result in some sort of painful punishment and reacts accordingly” Charlotte said, “I’m sure you’ve heard about what the Dentist said about her jaw, it has been difficult.”
“Yes” Kat replied. Apparently, Nan’s jaw had been broken sometime in the past. It had healed well but that was hardly a comforting thought, considering the sort of monster who would do something like that to a small child.
“She also has several hiding places picked out around this apartment” Charlotte said, “Many of them in places that I would have assumed are too small for her to squeeze into.”
“You might find this hard to believe” Kat said, “But that is actually a talent that the KSK looks for.”
Charlotte gave Kat a look that suggested that she didn’t have a whole lot of appreciation for that observation.
“Regardless” Charlotte said, “When the Nurse notices that she is missing first thing in the morning, I get to join the search.”
“It’s because she is frightened” Kat replied.
“I just wish she would come to me, like Nella would.”
Kat looked at her and realized that Nan’s difficulty trusting Charlotte was something that bothered her.
“What would you say to the guardian of a traumatized child in a situation like this?” Kat asked.
“To be patient” Charlotte replied, “Not exactly easy to do.”
“I’m sure that by now you’ve seen a few encouraging signs.”
“I’ve seen that she bonded with Kristina” Charlotte said, “Louis and Friedrich have tried to show her a good example what men are supposed to be like, as opposed to that wretch of a biological father…”
It was hardly a surprise that Charlotte would reveal a touch of anger at that individual. The fact that Charlotte was pointedly stating that there was only a biological connection spoke volumes. Still, involving Kiki at this time might not be a great idea. Sure, she was close in age to Nan’s mother but from what Kat had seen, Kiki was in a state of near panic as she got closer to completing Medical School. While Kat had no doubt that Kiki would pass with flying colors, she had talked with Louis about having her sit on a beach somewhere. Sending her to the South of France again was perhaps the best call. Someplace where she wouldn’t feel the need to take the weight of the world onto her shoulders for a couple of months. Call it a reward and make Kiki board the train kicking and screaming if they had to.
It seemed like the alternative would be to see Kiki finally succeed in burning herself out.
“You’re looking forward to the Summer Holiday?” Kat asked, changing the subject.
“Louis needs to play the role of High King in the South Pacific” Charlotte replied, “A couple months in the Caroline Islands, it is not all fun and games though. There is a meeting of the Eastern Pacific Pact that he is hosting.”
Kat was already aware of that. The meeting of all the Governments of the region minus China, whose containment had prompted the formation of the Pact in the first place.
“That sounds better than what I get to contend with” Kat replied, “I’ve an eighteen-year-old who is learning that adult relationships are a lot more complicated than she imagined. After months of pounding that into her brain, I finally got her to listen. Unfortunately, she sent a letter to her boyfriend saying that they needed to talk with predictable results.”
“That would be Suse Rosa, your Goddaughter?” Charlotte asked, “And she would be involved with your nephew Manfred?”
“You knew about that?” Kat asked in reply.
“Manfred Johannes is one of several Godsons that Louis has” Charlotte replied, “After recent events, we aren’t taking any chances with having one of them engaging in activities that might become embarrassing. There has been a lot of vetting going on.”
Meaning that they didn’t want their own version of what happened in Bavaria. Better to learn of it now, cut someone loose and make a quiet arrest before it became a spectacle.
“I wasn’t aware that it had already began” Kat replied.
“You are seen as being too close this time Katherine” Charlotte replied, “And you know full well that you are not the only fixer who Louis employs.”
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Wait... They're worried Manny will pull a Himmler?
I'm missing something here.
No, they are worried that any one of dozens might be a bad egg, Manny is just one of them and all of them got a close look.
Televised shuttle launches were a big thing in the 80s. Dad woke us up down here in NZ to watch them. Got to see it on live TV. Not good.
Oh, dear. Sounds like that letter resulted in a 'talk' that may have escalated into a 'fight' and then a breakup.
Good to have reaffirmation that Louis has not made the same mistake that Kira made with Kat. Over reliance on a particular asset can diminish the effectiveness of that asset over time. Not to mention the risks of too much power in too few hands. Also good to note that the Imperial Family has learnt from the other mistakes of the past; such as Shultz, Kira & the Federal Police all failing to recognise that Kat's personal history might make her unsuitable for a task, even after Kat had stated that fact to their face.
I know it's not as important, but I do wonder who are the other fixers...
Also, yay, time for Thread III.
Marc A
You know Asia quite well, then there is Kat's former mentor Anton Knoph...
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Wrong era. This sounds more like the initial problems the US had with building reliable rockets in the early space race.
During this topic, the first thing that came to my mind was the Apollo-1 disaster:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1
This led to a stand down of space program while every aspect of the design was put under the microscope.
The context of my post was a manned US space mission exploding during launch, it was not specific to shuttles. I used Challenger as an example of the type of disaster that could occur, especially since PM noted in his update that NASA was having trouble with their Saturn rocket and that the US has an administration hungry for results.
I think that Nan and Kiki will be good for each just like how Gia gave Kat a focus from her own problems , Nan will give Kiki an external focus to help stop Kiki from her current internal feedback loop of depression that she is on now,
Kiki has in the past to be shown as maternal when she was babysitting and was mistaken by others as being a mother to the children she was caring for.
Kiki has in the past to be shown as maternal when she was babysitting and was mistaken by others as being a mother to the children she was caring for.
Excellent source, thanks for bringing it to our attention.