Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Part 145, Chapter 2616
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Sixteen
20th April 1977
Tempelhof, Berlin
Tatiana looked around the courtyard garden of apartment building that her Great Aunt had lived in for the last several years. It had been the intention from the start that the tenets of this building would be elderly and that was reflected in every aspect of the place. It allowed them to maintain a level of independence while still receiving as much assistance as they needed. That That included sitting in the small common garden on a sunny spring afternoon. Aunt Marcella had insisted that they bring lunch downstairs because it was too nice a day to spend indoors. Tatiana couldn’t help but notice the looks of approval that she received from the other residents as they walked past. Getting grandchildren, or in Tatiana’s case a grandniece, to visit of their own accord was apparently difficult.
“I saw your mother in the paper” Aunt Marcella said, “She was at the royal wedding in Bucharest.”
“I know” Tatiana replied, not wanting to talk about her mother.
“The bride and groom were a handsome couple” Marcella said, “I think that Louis Junior really favors his father, so he will probably need to keep a close eye on his hairline.”
Tatiana personally found all the male members of the German Royal family to be all cut from the same cloth; tall, lanky, and somewhat awkward in appearance and manner. Still, there were laudable aspects. Louis Ferdinand Senior had retired and had become a patron of the arts. He had also spent a great deal of time involved in the establishment of Médecins Sans Frontières.
“Speaking of hair, have you thought about growing yours back out?” Marcella asked, “Before you had cut it so short you really were quite lovely, this on the other hand makes you look severe.”
It was an old conversation that Tatiana wasn’t interesting in having again. It was a practical consideration, caring for long hair while traveling was difficult. Aunt Marcella was clearly of a different opinion, she saw it as one more thing that Tatiana had done to spite her mother. Considering all the other things that she had done over the last few years for exactly that reason it wasn’t hard to see why. So many of those things seemed rather stupid in retrospect and that was an annoyance. While Tatiana knew she wasn’t stupid, the evidence to the contrary that was piling up was sort of hard to ignore.
“I find it easier to take care of” Tatiana replied, “Especially if I am somewhere where I cannot wash for a few days.”
Marcella smiled at that.
“Your brother told me about the job offer you received” Marcella said, “Working for the Foreign Service will make it so that you will get paid for your adventures.”
“I guess” Tatiana said. Aunt Marcella had no way of knowing about the conversation that she’d had with Asia a few months earlier. That her use to the BND was at an end now that the American FBI was on to her. Despite the protestations of the U.S. Government about the Rule of Law, terrible things happened to the BND’s people if they were caught. The job offer from the AA was a consolation prize, for taking minor risks that involved spending a summer working as a waitress in Boston and the Speaker of the House of Representatives inability to keep his hands to himself. It was hard not to feel as if someone was playing an elaborate prank on her.
Montreal, Canada
There were times when Henriette was confounded by the wild contradictions that Marie represented. This was one of those times. On one hand she was incredibly shy around people, on the other, when Marie felt compelled to say something it was as if it was something that she had been thinking about for months. It was always a surprise when that happened.
The Montreal Ladies Athletic Club had been enjoying a renaissance with the Olympic Games last summer and how the Club had been discovered by University students over the last couple years. The days when Henriette and Marie were the youngest ones present, if they didn’t have the place all to themselves were long gone. With the increased membership, Ms. Strike the Club’s founder and owner, was using this as an opportunity to refurbish the existing facilities and expand into additional space in an adjoining building. Strangely, she had asked for Marie and Henriette’s input towards her plans, and most surprising of all Marie had a number of ideas.
Sure, there was the traditional gymnasium facility and swimming pool, but there were other, more modern machines, yes, machines, and exercise routines that had grown in popularity in recent years. Now that the Club was attracting younger members there were those with small children, Henriette for example. What could be done to accommodate them?
That last part was something that Henriette would never have thought to ask, or probably had the courage to do either. It was the next turn that the conversation took that really surprised Henriette as Marie and Ms. Strike talked about cultural differences between Canada and Germany. Some of the things that Marie didn’t have a problem with, and apparently had regularly done, would have left Henriette completely mortified. Then came the understanding that the reverse was certainly true as well. She had seen Marie’s reaction towards tiger’s tail ice cream, but that didn’t really seem like a fair comparison.
20th April 1977
Tempelhof, Berlin
Tatiana looked around the courtyard garden of apartment building that her Great Aunt had lived in for the last several years. It had been the intention from the start that the tenets of this building would be elderly and that was reflected in every aspect of the place. It allowed them to maintain a level of independence while still receiving as much assistance as they needed. That That included sitting in the small common garden on a sunny spring afternoon. Aunt Marcella had insisted that they bring lunch downstairs because it was too nice a day to spend indoors. Tatiana couldn’t help but notice the looks of approval that she received from the other residents as they walked past. Getting grandchildren, or in Tatiana’s case a grandniece, to visit of their own accord was apparently difficult.
“I saw your mother in the paper” Aunt Marcella said, “She was at the royal wedding in Bucharest.”
“I know” Tatiana replied, not wanting to talk about her mother.
“The bride and groom were a handsome couple” Marcella said, “I think that Louis Junior really favors his father, so he will probably need to keep a close eye on his hairline.”
Tatiana personally found all the male members of the German Royal family to be all cut from the same cloth; tall, lanky, and somewhat awkward in appearance and manner. Still, there were laudable aspects. Louis Ferdinand Senior had retired and had become a patron of the arts. He had also spent a great deal of time involved in the establishment of Médecins Sans Frontières.
“Speaking of hair, have you thought about growing yours back out?” Marcella asked, “Before you had cut it so short you really were quite lovely, this on the other hand makes you look severe.”
It was an old conversation that Tatiana wasn’t interesting in having again. It was a practical consideration, caring for long hair while traveling was difficult. Aunt Marcella was clearly of a different opinion, she saw it as one more thing that Tatiana had done to spite her mother. Considering all the other things that she had done over the last few years for exactly that reason it wasn’t hard to see why. So many of those things seemed rather stupid in retrospect and that was an annoyance. While Tatiana knew she wasn’t stupid, the evidence to the contrary that was piling up was sort of hard to ignore.
“I find it easier to take care of” Tatiana replied, “Especially if I am somewhere where I cannot wash for a few days.”
Marcella smiled at that.
“Your brother told me about the job offer you received” Marcella said, “Working for the Foreign Service will make it so that you will get paid for your adventures.”
“I guess” Tatiana said. Aunt Marcella had no way of knowing about the conversation that she’d had with Asia a few months earlier. That her use to the BND was at an end now that the American FBI was on to her. Despite the protestations of the U.S. Government about the Rule of Law, terrible things happened to the BND’s people if they were caught. The job offer from the AA was a consolation prize, for taking minor risks that involved spending a summer working as a waitress in Boston and the Speaker of the House of Representatives inability to keep his hands to himself. It was hard not to feel as if someone was playing an elaborate prank on her.
Montreal, Canada
There were times when Henriette was confounded by the wild contradictions that Marie represented. This was one of those times. On one hand she was incredibly shy around people, on the other, when Marie felt compelled to say something it was as if it was something that she had been thinking about for months. It was always a surprise when that happened.
The Montreal Ladies Athletic Club had been enjoying a renaissance with the Olympic Games last summer and how the Club had been discovered by University students over the last couple years. The days when Henriette and Marie were the youngest ones present, if they didn’t have the place all to themselves were long gone. With the increased membership, Ms. Strike the Club’s founder and owner, was using this as an opportunity to refurbish the existing facilities and expand into additional space in an adjoining building. Strangely, she had asked for Marie and Henriette’s input towards her plans, and most surprising of all Marie had a number of ideas.
Sure, there was the traditional gymnasium facility and swimming pool, but there were other, more modern machines, yes, machines, and exercise routines that had grown in popularity in recent years. Now that the Club was attracting younger members there were those with small children, Henriette for example. What could be done to accommodate them?
That last part was something that Henriette would never have thought to ask, or probably had the courage to do either. It was the next turn that the conversation took that really surprised Henriette as Marie and Ms. Strike talked about cultural differences between Canada and Germany. Some of the things that Marie didn’t have a problem with, and apparently had regularly done, would have left Henriette completely mortified. Then came the understanding that the reverse was certainly true as well. She had seen Marie’s reaction towards tiger’s tail ice cream, but that didn’t really seem like a fair comparison.
Aunt Marcella still remains as the most levelheaded character in this timeline.
Tatiana still has problems listening to other people who are just trying to help her, and that is why she is going to have her little Boston adventures next year in 1978.
I wonder if Malclom visits Marcella and Friends to use them as test subjects to make the home PC he is working on more user friendly to seniors as they are a potential untapped market.
Marie is not just a trendsetter, she is someone who can spot the next big things to happen before most people do.
The reason for that is, she is like her mother by keeping her mouth shut, and her eyes and ears open.
The main importance of the growing membership and expansion of the MLAC is not that it provides a safe space for women to exercise, but in the years to come it will be a place for women to make the contacts and connections that men's clubs have already done for decades.
Tatiana still has problems listening to other people who are just trying to help her, and that is why she is going to have her little Boston adventures next year in 1978.
I wonder if Malclom visits Marcella and Friends to use them as test subjects to make the home PC he is working on more user friendly to seniors as they are a potential untapped market.
Marie is not just a trendsetter, she is someone who can spot the next big things to happen before most people do.
The reason for that is, she is like her mother by keeping her mouth shut, and her eyes and ears open.
The main importance of the growing membership and expansion of the MLAC is not that it provides a safe space for women to exercise, but in the years to come it will be a place for women to make the contacts and connections that men's clubs have already done for decades.
Tiger tail ice cream, orange flavored with a black licorice ribbon. You can only find this in Canada and the rest of the world wonders why they like it.
Meanwhile, in the Deep South of Aotearoa New Zealand...
www.deepsouthicecream.co.nz
Licorice Ice Cream
Part 145, Chapter 2617
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Seventeen
1st May 1977
Richthofen Estate, Rural Silesia
“Momma told me to stay away from Zwei” Ingrid said as she looked into the stables through the bay doors, a fair distance away, as Niko was using the stiff brush on the horse’s side. Attending University in Breslau meant that he was back living at home, his seven-year-old little sister was a part of that.
Zwei was had been bred for endurance and the ability to survive rigors of life of a Cavalry mount. A mild temper and easy nature were not necessarily a part of that. There had been complaints about how Zwei would not hesitate to kick or bite if he was agitated. He had been a good horse to have across the thousands of kilometers they had traveled together in Argentina and Niko had gotten to know Zwei extremely well during that time. That was why Niko was willing to cut him a lot of slack. He couldn’t help but noticing that the head groom and stable hands seemed relieved when he was on hand to care for Zwei himself though. Having Ingrid keeping her distance from the horse was probably better for both of them.
Completely unaware of any of this, Zwei was proving that when all was said and done he was a horse like any other as he was leaning into the brush. No matter how the horse behaved towards others, he knew Niko and was inclined to cooperate. Especially if it got him a good brushing like this.
“The two of us have an understanding” Niko replied as his put the stiff brush into the bag of tools and switched to the soft brush. This one was for brushing off sensitive areas like Zwei’s face and ears. Ingrid watched for a few more minutes but grew bored and skipped off. If Niko had guess, once she figured out that her big brother wasn’t going to get kicked.
Niko hummed as he worked, enjoying the simple task after exercising Zwei on a Sunday afternoon. He had learned that there had been a very practical reason why his grandfather had acquired Zwei from the Heer. As an official Cavalry mount, Zwei could be used by Niko when he was serving on the Staff of the Marshal of Silesia. Having a horse meant that he wouldn’t have to walk everywhere as archaic as it seemed.
It was a bit bewildering to learn that had been arranged ages ago, shortly after he had returned from Argentina. The Marshal of Silesia just happened to be Dietrich “Tilo” Schultz, the father of Niko’s best friend. Bas found it funny but to Niko it was more of his grandfather’s contrivances. For as long as Niko could remember he had been told about the network of friends, enemies, and acquaintances that his grandfather and father negotiated. It was all about keeping the House of Richthofen at the top of the heap. By sending Niko to be the Aide of Tilo Schultz it was sending a message about the role that the Schultz family was going to play in the future.
Oddly that was typical of the situation that Niko had found in Argentina and why he had done so well there. He had been within a similar system his entire life. Sure, there was the equivalent of the Landtag there even if it wasn’t as powerful, but the money behind the Politicians was represented in smoke filled rooms where a place at the table was everything. The local Don’s grandson going to work for the General in charge of the Military District would be a perfectly ordinary occurrence. Would the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina look like Silesia politically in fifty or sixty years? He had no idea.
Putting the soft brush aside, Niko carefully inspected Zwei’s hooves. Using the pick to remove any debris lodged in them. Niko could tell that Zwei’s hooves would need to be trimmed soon. The local Ferrier knew Zwei quite well by now, having asked Niko when he was planning on holding the exorcism to send the horse home the last time they had talked. The trim and shoeing were not going to be cheap.
Potsdam
“I don’t get why Friedrich and Louis insisted on this” Kat said as she sat at the old kitchen table that Fritz Shafer, other Bladesmiths, and their apprentices used in the breakroom of the workshop.
“Because you have been putting this off for years, Katze” Schafer said as he placed a cup of tea on the table in front of her. There were few people who stilled called her by that nickname from a lifetime ago and he was one of them. “The Emperor told me that you would turn this down or refuse to play a part in the design. So I was to use my best judgement and the result is to be presented to you in a special ceremony next week.”
It was just like them to spring something like this on her.
Kat looked at the object of her objections laying on a cloth on the table so that she could get a good look at it. A small sword made of the pattern welded steel that Shafer had helped to popularize over the last few decades. In this case a pattern of stars and leaves in black and silver that ran the length of the blade. It had a rosewood handle, while the hilt and handguard were of blued steel with bear crest of Berlin and Kat’s personal tigress crest on opposite sides of the pommel inlayed in gold. It was supposed to be the Sword of office for the Prefect of Berlin. It was beautiful, the perfect counterpart to the karambit she had carried for years.
1st May 1977
Richthofen Estate, Rural Silesia
“Momma told me to stay away from Zwei” Ingrid said as she looked into the stables through the bay doors, a fair distance away, as Niko was using the stiff brush on the horse’s side. Attending University in Breslau meant that he was back living at home, his seven-year-old little sister was a part of that.
Zwei was had been bred for endurance and the ability to survive rigors of life of a Cavalry mount. A mild temper and easy nature were not necessarily a part of that. There had been complaints about how Zwei would not hesitate to kick or bite if he was agitated. He had been a good horse to have across the thousands of kilometers they had traveled together in Argentina and Niko had gotten to know Zwei extremely well during that time. That was why Niko was willing to cut him a lot of slack. He couldn’t help but noticing that the head groom and stable hands seemed relieved when he was on hand to care for Zwei himself though. Having Ingrid keeping her distance from the horse was probably better for both of them.
Completely unaware of any of this, Zwei was proving that when all was said and done he was a horse like any other as he was leaning into the brush. No matter how the horse behaved towards others, he knew Niko and was inclined to cooperate. Especially if it got him a good brushing like this.
“The two of us have an understanding” Niko replied as his put the stiff brush into the bag of tools and switched to the soft brush. This one was for brushing off sensitive areas like Zwei’s face and ears. Ingrid watched for a few more minutes but grew bored and skipped off. If Niko had guess, once she figured out that her big brother wasn’t going to get kicked.
Niko hummed as he worked, enjoying the simple task after exercising Zwei on a Sunday afternoon. He had learned that there had been a very practical reason why his grandfather had acquired Zwei from the Heer. As an official Cavalry mount, Zwei could be used by Niko when he was serving on the Staff of the Marshal of Silesia. Having a horse meant that he wouldn’t have to walk everywhere as archaic as it seemed.
It was a bit bewildering to learn that had been arranged ages ago, shortly after he had returned from Argentina. The Marshal of Silesia just happened to be Dietrich “Tilo” Schultz, the father of Niko’s best friend. Bas found it funny but to Niko it was more of his grandfather’s contrivances. For as long as Niko could remember he had been told about the network of friends, enemies, and acquaintances that his grandfather and father negotiated. It was all about keeping the House of Richthofen at the top of the heap. By sending Niko to be the Aide of Tilo Schultz it was sending a message about the role that the Schultz family was going to play in the future.
Oddly that was typical of the situation that Niko had found in Argentina and why he had done so well there. He had been within a similar system his entire life. Sure, there was the equivalent of the Landtag there even if it wasn’t as powerful, but the money behind the Politicians was represented in smoke filled rooms where a place at the table was everything. The local Don’s grandson going to work for the General in charge of the Military District would be a perfectly ordinary occurrence. Would the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina look like Silesia politically in fifty or sixty years? He had no idea.
Putting the soft brush aside, Niko carefully inspected Zwei’s hooves. Using the pick to remove any debris lodged in them. Niko could tell that Zwei’s hooves would need to be trimmed soon. The local Ferrier knew Zwei quite well by now, having asked Niko when he was planning on holding the exorcism to send the horse home the last time they had talked. The trim and shoeing were not going to be cheap.
Potsdam
“I don’t get why Friedrich and Louis insisted on this” Kat said as she sat at the old kitchen table that Fritz Shafer, other Bladesmiths, and their apprentices used in the breakroom of the workshop.
“Because you have been putting this off for years, Katze” Schafer said as he placed a cup of tea on the table in front of her. There were few people who stilled called her by that nickname from a lifetime ago and he was one of them. “The Emperor told me that you would turn this down or refuse to play a part in the design. So I was to use my best judgement and the result is to be presented to you in a special ceremony next week.”
It was just like them to spring something like this on her.
Kat looked at the object of her objections laying on a cloth on the table so that she could get a good look at it. A small sword made of the pattern welded steel that Shafer had helped to popularize over the last few decades. In this case a pattern of stars and leaves in black and silver that ran the length of the blade. It had a rosewood handle, while the hilt and handguard were of blued steel with bear crest of Berlin and Kat’s personal tigress crest on opposite sides of the pommel inlayed in gold. It was supposed to be the Sword of office for the Prefect of Berlin. It was beautiful, the perfect counterpart to the karambit she had carried for years.
Part 145, Chapter 2618
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Eighteen
16th May 1977
London, England
The man she had known as John Ellis had given Sarah the manuscript and told her to wait until the heat died down and then to present it to a publisher along with the proof that it was real. The thing was that the way he had checked out, the heat as it were, was nothing short of hellfire. Anyone who had been close to John had been subjected to a staggering amount of scrutiny and Sarah had kept the manuscript hidden under the upright piano in her apartment where it was impossible to get to without lifting the whole thing off the floor.
Then life had happened.
Karl Zöller finding out about Johan and the sore feelings that had stemmed from that. Johan learning that he had an extended family through his biological father had also been a complication because Sarah had the fear that she was going to lose her son. They had so much more to offer him than she did. The entire time Johan had been going to University and he had studied Business Administration despite Sarah’s insistence that he study what he cared about as opposed to what she saw as an obligation to her. Eventually, when Johan had finished at University, he had received a job offer of the sort that only came along once in a lifetime. An entry level job in the business portion of the Berlin Philharmonic, which Johan was uniquely suited to. Then Johan had met Kertu…
That was when life had flown at Sarah so fast that she had hardly been able to keep up over the next few years. Then she woke up one day to learn that she had a grandchild on the way at the same time the club, which had always operated on the margins, was hopelessly drowning in a sea of red ink. If Sarah even wanted to close the place down, she was going to need resources that she didn’t actually have.
There was one thing that she had though that the whole world would pay through the nose to get a look at and after nearly five years, things had grown about as cold as they would ever get. As John had instructed her, she had sent a taste to various London publishers so that they would be chomping at the bit to get a crack at the actual manuscript. The thing was that Sarah herself had taken a look at the manuscript that she had kept hidden for so long and it revealed a side of her father that she had never known. Sure, for her whole life she had heard about his duplicity and manipulations. Finally, it told the story of what it was like inside one of the BND’s Hunter/Killer teams, and how that same team had engineered the sequence of events that eventually led to the destruction of the Russian Army and the collapse of the Soviet Union, all while sabotaging American ambitions. It was small wonder that John had urged caution and advised her to go to London. Many of the details in the manuscript were of things that her own Government would do anything to keep secret.
“This will authenticate the manuscript” Sarah said as she handed the folder to the potential publisher. “And I have other copies of these materials.”
John had warned her that they would try to screw her over and that she was in possession of something extremely valuable to them. It was important that she leverage that to keep control of the matter. Sarah didn’t think that she would get every single thing that she wanted, not even for a second. Getting them to bid against each other was key.
“We are prepared to be extremely generous if this pans out” The Publisher said.
Yeah, they were going to need to be.
Montreal, Canada
The Ladies Athletic Club had convinced Elina Belova, a Fencer who competed at the Olympic level the year before to come give a demonstration. Hilda Strike, who had been pressing Marie Alexandra to take an active role in the Club’s community had insisted that she be present.
Everyone in the Club knew Marie by now, she had overheard them talking about “That quiet girl” and knew that they were referring to her. It just proved what they knew. Marie’s mother had told her for years that listening was far more important than filling the air with nervous chatter. That much had proven true. She had also told her that eventually you come to a moment when you need to act.
Watching Elina gleefully use her foil to snatch the sword out the hand of those who volunteered to face her was becoming annoying for Marie. This was supposed to be fun for everyone, but all that was being demonstrated was that Elina felt she was better than them. Admittedly, she probably was, but it annoyed Marie regardless. Marie knew that she was badly out of practice and her main opponent over the years had been her cousin Niko. Then her mother had beaten into her head the real nature of fighting, how she needed to be brutal and ruthless against opponents who would almost always be bigger and stronger than her, she had lost all interest in that sort of thing.
Putting on the coat and mask, Marie squared off with Elina. Elina attempted to use the same trick on her not knowing that Maire knew how to maintain a proper grip on the foil. While she was still surprised, Marie went on the attack and scored a touch. Marie was aware that she had an audience, and they applauded her action. What she couldn’t see was Elina’s face through the mask, but the set of her body suggested that she wasn’t going to underestimate Marie again. So, Marie was going to get beat soundly in points. Not that it mattered though, in Marie’s thinking she had already won.
16th May 1977
London, England
The man she had known as John Ellis had given Sarah the manuscript and told her to wait until the heat died down and then to present it to a publisher along with the proof that it was real. The thing was that the way he had checked out, the heat as it were, was nothing short of hellfire. Anyone who had been close to John had been subjected to a staggering amount of scrutiny and Sarah had kept the manuscript hidden under the upright piano in her apartment where it was impossible to get to without lifting the whole thing off the floor.
Then life had happened.
Karl Zöller finding out about Johan and the sore feelings that had stemmed from that. Johan learning that he had an extended family through his biological father had also been a complication because Sarah had the fear that she was going to lose her son. They had so much more to offer him than she did. The entire time Johan had been going to University and he had studied Business Administration despite Sarah’s insistence that he study what he cared about as opposed to what she saw as an obligation to her. Eventually, when Johan had finished at University, he had received a job offer of the sort that only came along once in a lifetime. An entry level job in the business portion of the Berlin Philharmonic, which Johan was uniquely suited to. Then Johan had met Kertu…
That was when life had flown at Sarah so fast that she had hardly been able to keep up over the next few years. Then she woke up one day to learn that she had a grandchild on the way at the same time the club, which had always operated on the margins, was hopelessly drowning in a sea of red ink. If Sarah even wanted to close the place down, she was going to need resources that she didn’t actually have.
There was one thing that she had though that the whole world would pay through the nose to get a look at and after nearly five years, things had grown about as cold as they would ever get. As John had instructed her, she had sent a taste to various London publishers so that they would be chomping at the bit to get a crack at the actual manuscript. The thing was that Sarah herself had taken a look at the manuscript that she had kept hidden for so long and it revealed a side of her father that she had never known. Sure, for her whole life she had heard about his duplicity and manipulations. Finally, it told the story of what it was like inside one of the BND’s Hunter/Killer teams, and how that same team had engineered the sequence of events that eventually led to the destruction of the Russian Army and the collapse of the Soviet Union, all while sabotaging American ambitions. It was small wonder that John had urged caution and advised her to go to London. Many of the details in the manuscript were of things that her own Government would do anything to keep secret.
“This will authenticate the manuscript” Sarah said as she handed the folder to the potential publisher. “And I have other copies of these materials.”
John had warned her that they would try to screw her over and that she was in possession of something extremely valuable to them. It was important that she leverage that to keep control of the matter. Sarah didn’t think that she would get every single thing that she wanted, not even for a second. Getting them to bid against each other was key.
“We are prepared to be extremely generous if this pans out” The Publisher said.
Yeah, they were going to need to be.
Montreal, Canada
The Ladies Athletic Club had convinced Elina Belova, a Fencer who competed at the Olympic level the year before to come give a demonstration. Hilda Strike, who had been pressing Marie Alexandra to take an active role in the Club’s community had insisted that she be present.
Everyone in the Club knew Marie by now, she had overheard them talking about “That quiet girl” and knew that they were referring to her. It just proved what they knew. Marie’s mother had told her for years that listening was far more important than filling the air with nervous chatter. That much had proven true. She had also told her that eventually you come to a moment when you need to act.
Watching Elina gleefully use her foil to snatch the sword out the hand of those who volunteered to face her was becoming annoying for Marie. This was supposed to be fun for everyone, but all that was being demonstrated was that Elina felt she was better than them. Admittedly, she probably was, but it annoyed Marie regardless. Marie knew that she was badly out of practice and her main opponent over the years had been her cousin Niko. Then her mother had beaten into her head the real nature of fighting, how she needed to be brutal and ruthless against opponents who would almost always be bigger and stronger than her, she had lost all interest in that sort of thing.
Putting on the coat and mask, Marie squared off with Elina. Elina attempted to use the same trick on her not knowing that Maire knew how to maintain a proper grip on the foil. While she was still surprised, Marie went on the attack and scored a touch. Marie was aware that she had an audience, and they applauded her action. What she couldn’t see was Elina’s face through the mask, but the set of her body suggested that she wasn’t going to underestimate Marie again. So, Marie was going to get beat soundly in points. Not that it mattered though, in Marie’s thinking she had already won.
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Sarah should have done some judicious editing before sending that time bomb known as The Autobiography of John Dillinger to the publisher.
There is going to be a big blowback to this, but it will also add to the legend of Jacob von Schmidt.
Unbeknownst to Marie, French Intelligence has placed an agent as a staff member of the club, and a report of the little demonstration is already on it’s way to Paris.
I liked the ruminations of Niko about Opa von Richthofen’s alliance building and how it serves the Family.
I don’t remember any posting of Manfred von Richthofen interacting with Tilo Schultz, but for von Richthofen to choose Tilo to be the “Honorary” Marshal of Selisia shows that he is thinking ahead when he might be called upon to save the Kaiser at some point in time.
The time that Niko spent on the Patagonian ranges is allowing Opa to make a more formal alliance with Martzel Ibbera that will mutually benefit each family as the von Richthofen’s will have someone they trust with great influence in the area to look out for their interests while the Ibbera’s get more access to markets in Europe.
There is going to be a big blowback to this, but it will also add to the legend of Jacob von Schmidt.
Unbeknownst to Marie, French Intelligence has placed an agent as a staff member of the club, and a report of the little demonstration is already on it’s way to Paris.
I liked the ruminations of Niko about Opa von Richthofen’s alliance building and how it serves the Family.
I don’t remember any posting of Manfred von Richthofen interacting with Tilo Schultz, but for von Richthofen to choose Tilo to be the “Honorary” Marshal of Selisia shows that he is thinking ahead when he might be called upon to save the Kaiser at some point in time.
The time that Niko spent on the Patagonian ranges is allowing Opa to make a more formal alliance with Martzel Ibbera that will mutually benefit each family as the von Richthofen’s will have someone they trust with great influence in the area to look out for their interests while the Ibbera’s get more access to markets in Europe.
The French DGSE is aware of Marie Alexandra, as is the CIA and British Military Intelligence.
There has been speculation by the faithful commentators of this timeline that Marie has PTSD stemming from the time she was kidnapped by Mithras and Co. when Kiki was taken at the same time, I disagree with that theory.
I think the problem that Marie has is that she is very much aware of her potential as a Royal Assassin like her mother, and that scares her.
For the intelligence services of other countries they also are very aware of her potential and that scares them too.
When Marie was challenged to infiltrate the Canadian secret training facility, she was armed with a karambit knife that her mother made infamous, and she wasn't afraid to use it if necessary.
All that did was confirm to Marie that she doesn't want to be part of that world, but conversely she doesn't have any ideas about other options for her future.
For the world's intelligence services, they see a very young woman who speaks fluently in several different languages like a native speaker, and is a master of disguise who can blend in very easily with the local population and disappear without a trace.
By now the story of Marie's mother first mission with the SKS is a legend that has been told and retold numerous times in books, movies, and television shows about how she went up to two Soviet soldiers and in cold blood killed them without any trace of remorse until a couple of decades later when her son reached their age, and Marie can see herself doing the same thing if it came to that.
I have this idea of Doug going to some small out of the way country like Rwanda or into the jungles of the Amazon and Kat goes along to get away from everything. Suddenly this place is invaded by 10 x the normal amount of tourist all dressed alike and behaving alike, while at the same time when Kat goes visit some village with Doug all these folk go tramping all over the area around the village like they are searching for something. Half might get killed by the local Flora and Fauna but hey that'll happen.
Part 145, Chapter 2619
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Nineteen
2nd June 1977
Paris, France
Being in the headquarters of the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure was like having an itch that he couldn’t scratch for Thomas Lachapelle. He belonged in the field as opposed to the stuffy Paris offices of the organization. The Director wanted a word with him while he was passing through Paris.
“I don’t like coincidences” The Director said, “And we are supposed to believe that these two things are completely unrelated?”
While Thomas knew better than to tell the Director that the two events he was talking about were completely unrelated. The family in question had been a thorn in the side of France since time out of mind, so nothing could be taken for granted. They were looking at two photographs taken several days and thousands of kilometers apart. In the first was of the family Matriarch receiving a sword similar in style to a French épée that was clearly designed to be a weapon. In the second the youngest daughter was proving that she was proficient in exactly that same sort of weapon.
“We cannot tell if Katherine has been in recent contact with her daughter, or even if anything should be read into this matter” Thomas said, “Until we get information suggesting otherwise the best course of action is continued observation.”
“Your father would have had that information by now” The Director replied.
Thomas tried not to react to that. His father had warned him that he had frequently needed to blow smoke up the Director’s ass all the way back when the Director had been a mere Supervising Agent. Keeping track of the Tigress and her children without landing in hot water was a nearly impossible task. There had been incidents when they had discovered that they had failed in rather spectacular fashion. It was just fortunate that the Tigress had a sense of humor, though that was cold comfort to those who found themselves on the receiving end of it. The lengthy recording of Katherine von Mischner’s mother-in-law complaining about Katherine after their listening device mysteriously ended up in that particular room had been a source of embarrassment for years. And that had happened right as she had ordered snacks for the surveillance teams. Thomas’ father had the ill fortune of being the team leader when they had basically collided with their CIA counterparts in the middle of the block when they had tried to leave. So, Thomas had heard all about the Tigress from the time he was a child.
“My father’s example is one that I am trying to live up to, Sir” Thomas said. It was better than telling him that the obsession with one family while they had the entire BND acting as if France, and French ports in particular, was there solely for the convenience of German shipping was a stupid waste of resources best used elsewhere. Thomas suspected that the BND used the movements of the Tigress as cover. With all eyes on her, who knew what deviltry was occurring when no one was looking.
“As well you should” The Director replied.
Mitte, Berlin
When people imagined what Kat did, presiding over a City Planning meeting was not what any of them had in mind. Mostly it involved her trying to keeping the shouting matches from devolving into fistfights.
Presently, she was listing to two red-faced grown men behaving worse than toddlers as they were arguing about land use and transportation policy. Since Kat had been forced to learn about this issue and many others, she had come to envy Paris. The French Capital was atop a vast network of catacombs which meant that most of the development was occurring outside the City Center. The Center of Berlin had been saved for a long time by the city having been built on what was essentially a swamp, with the city spreading out. Now with technology having caught up with it and the city reaching the limits of outward expansion, it was now moving upward. While no one expected Berlin to ever reach the towering heights of the Frankfurt skyline which had buildings planned that might one day rival New York, it had sparked intense debate that the Berliners handled the same as they always did, mostly yelling and shouting.
The U-Bahn fire had sharpened the contours of the debate as key portions of the subway network had needed to be closed for weeks and that had heavily taxed the rest of Berlin’s transit network. The neglect of the transit system over the prior years had cost dozens of lives and the investigation was revealing that several other S-Bahn stations were going to need to be heavily renovated to keep that from happening again. Kat remembered seeing articles about “The City of Future” decades earlier and her personal observations of life in the distant year of 1977, the future looked nothing like anyone seemed to have imagined. There were no airships, jetpacks, or flying cars. The present looked a whole lot like the past in most respects. Things that no one had thought of like the perverse counterintuitive reality of induced demand and how that related to traffic snarls or the endless debates about who paid for what and how the pie got sliced were on no one’s mind.
Looking over, Kat saw that Aurora Capa-Taro was checking her watch again. She had hired the dear friend of her goddaughter Zella to help manage her public persona. The trouble was that there were many demands of Kat’s time, and they tended to run long.
2nd June 1977
Paris, France
Being in the headquarters of the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure was like having an itch that he couldn’t scratch for Thomas Lachapelle. He belonged in the field as opposed to the stuffy Paris offices of the organization. The Director wanted a word with him while he was passing through Paris.
“I don’t like coincidences” The Director said, “And we are supposed to believe that these two things are completely unrelated?”
While Thomas knew better than to tell the Director that the two events he was talking about were completely unrelated. The family in question had been a thorn in the side of France since time out of mind, so nothing could be taken for granted. They were looking at two photographs taken several days and thousands of kilometers apart. In the first was of the family Matriarch receiving a sword similar in style to a French épée that was clearly designed to be a weapon. In the second the youngest daughter was proving that she was proficient in exactly that same sort of weapon.
“We cannot tell if Katherine has been in recent contact with her daughter, or even if anything should be read into this matter” Thomas said, “Until we get information suggesting otherwise the best course of action is continued observation.”
“Your father would have had that information by now” The Director replied.
Thomas tried not to react to that. His father had warned him that he had frequently needed to blow smoke up the Director’s ass all the way back when the Director had been a mere Supervising Agent. Keeping track of the Tigress and her children without landing in hot water was a nearly impossible task. There had been incidents when they had discovered that they had failed in rather spectacular fashion. It was just fortunate that the Tigress had a sense of humor, though that was cold comfort to those who found themselves on the receiving end of it. The lengthy recording of Katherine von Mischner’s mother-in-law complaining about Katherine after their listening device mysteriously ended up in that particular room had been a source of embarrassment for years. And that had happened right as she had ordered snacks for the surveillance teams. Thomas’ father had the ill fortune of being the team leader when they had basically collided with their CIA counterparts in the middle of the block when they had tried to leave. So, Thomas had heard all about the Tigress from the time he was a child.
“My father’s example is one that I am trying to live up to, Sir” Thomas said. It was better than telling him that the obsession with one family while they had the entire BND acting as if France, and French ports in particular, was there solely for the convenience of German shipping was a stupid waste of resources best used elsewhere. Thomas suspected that the BND used the movements of the Tigress as cover. With all eyes on her, who knew what deviltry was occurring when no one was looking.
“As well you should” The Director replied.
Mitte, Berlin
When people imagined what Kat did, presiding over a City Planning meeting was not what any of them had in mind. Mostly it involved her trying to keeping the shouting matches from devolving into fistfights.
Presently, she was listing to two red-faced grown men behaving worse than toddlers as they were arguing about land use and transportation policy. Since Kat had been forced to learn about this issue and many others, she had come to envy Paris. The French Capital was atop a vast network of catacombs which meant that most of the development was occurring outside the City Center. The Center of Berlin had been saved for a long time by the city having been built on what was essentially a swamp, with the city spreading out. Now with technology having caught up with it and the city reaching the limits of outward expansion, it was now moving upward. While no one expected Berlin to ever reach the towering heights of the Frankfurt skyline which had buildings planned that might one day rival New York, it had sparked intense debate that the Berliners handled the same as they always did, mostly yelling and shouting.
The U-Bahn fire had sharpened the contours of the debate as key portions of the subway network had needed to be closed for weeks and that had heavily taxed the rest of Berlin’s transit network. The neglect of the transit system over the prior years had cost dozens of lives and the investigation was revealing that several other S-Bahn stations were going to need to be heavily renovated to keep that from happening again. Kat remembered seeing articles about “The City of Future” decades earlier and her personal observations of life in the distant year of 1977, the future looked nothing like anyone seemed to have imagined. There were no airships, jetpacks, or flying cars. The present looked a whole lot like the past in most respects. Things that no one had thought of like the perverse counterintuitive reality of induced demand and how that related to traffic snarls or the endless debates about who paid for what and how the pie got sliced were on no one’s mind.
Looking over, Kat saw that Aurora Capa-Taro was checking her watch again. She had hired the dear friend of her goddaughter Zella to help manage her public persona. The trouble was that there were many demands of Kat’s time, and they tended to run long.
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