Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

Honestly, can't the Montreal police do something about Marie's problem? A Canadian citizen is literally being harassed by foreign governments for no reason!
On what charges? Unless there are stalking laws in this reality they aren't doing anything actionable by simply observing her from a distance.
 
It is most likely that the higher ups in the Montreal P.D. have been briefed on a "Need to Know" bases that the RCMP is conducting a counter-surveillance operation involving a young woman in order to "Identify" certain individuals from other countries.
 
This is one of the things that the RCMP wants to happen. Marie knows what’s happening and this is a way to score points with Granpa, she understands this is a way to help identify who some of the players are and help the Canadians since she is there. It would not surprise me if Malcolm was letting Kat know what was happening to keep her both happy and not worried about her daughter. This would also be a two way street with her letting them know things in an unofficial way, things that are official can cause troubles.
 
Part 136, Chapter 2336
Chapter Two Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-Six



8th November 1974

Montreal, Canada

It was snowing as Marie Alexandra arrived at the Lane house. When Isabella let her in she was all smiles, the Housekeeper was always happy to see her, it made Marie wonder just how bad it had been before she had started coming around. She had been helping Henriette apply for Colleges in Montreal. After how Henriette’s life had been derailed, most of the problem was that she was scared to resume it after how she had barely managed to finish her secondary education because of her situation. Her mother had been pushing her to have a social life, that any man who was actually worth anything wouldn’t have a problem with Henriette having a daughter. That seemed rather optimistic to Marie, however she knew that her father had accepted her mother for who she was and everything that came with that for the last thirty years, so it probably wasn’t too far off the mark.

Henriette wasn’t focused on the task at hand because Alice was sick. Mrs. Lane insisted that it was just the sort of minor thing that babies got. Still, by early evening, Alice was getting worse, burning with a fever, and Henriette was on the urge of panic. Even Marie had to admit that there was a problem. The trouble was that Mrs. Lane was uncomfortable driving across town and Mr. Lane was downtown in the office. Marie realized that there was a simple answer to their problem as she put on her coat and told Henriette to get Alice ready to go and she made a few phone calls.

Minutes later, Marie was approaching the late model sedan with fogged up windows and two men seated in the front seat. She had to screw up her courage for the next part and wondered how her mother had been so bold to do things like this.

“Be inevitable” Marie said to herself as she brushed the falling snow off her head.

Walking up to the back door as quickly as she could. Marie grabbed the door handle and pulled it open and was greeted with a blast of hot air. Sliding into the back seat, the two men were startled by her intrusion.

“I’ve already called my grandfather, so he knows I am here” Marie said, “The two of you need to make yourselves useful for once and drive Henriette’s baby to the hospital.”

“The Hell we will” One of the men said turning in his seat to face her, angered by this turn of events. Confirming Marie’s suspicion that they were American CIA in the process.

“Your job is to spy on me, this evening it is closer than usual. The alternative is that the Special Branch of the Mounties arrests both of you and begins the process of having you deported” Marie said, “I think that your Director Church would sack you for far less than that.”

They were grumbling but made no move to eject Marie from the car. Marie had seen both of these men as a part of the team that had been following her around Montreal for weeks. Long after they should have gotten bored and found a better use for their time. She had also left out that her grandfather had specially told her not to do this sort of thing because it would convince them that she was just like her mother, but they didn’t need to know that. As it was, she had them over a barrel.

A minute later, Henriette and Mrs. Lane along with Isabella crowded into the back seat. “Thank for your help Mister…” Henriette said in a leading question.

“Mister Grey” The man in the passenger seat said and he didn’t sound happy. Marie had seen enough Spy Thrillers to know that was obviously not his real name and the atmosphere in the car remained tense with the only sounds were the engine and the windshield wipers pushing the snow off the windshield. That was until Alice started howling in displeasure. She was sick, tired, probably hurting, and she didn’t have the context to understand any of it. Henriette did her best to calm Alice without much success. After what had seemed like an eternity, they pulled up to the brightly lit entrance to the hospital’s Emergency Department. Marie recognized her grandfather there waiting for them and what looked like a team of Doctors and Nurses. Sir Malcolm had clearly called in a few favors to get an immediate response like this. She also saw that Kage Akio had decided to make an appearance now of all times and was standing off to the side and no one else had really noticed his presence.

Opening the car door, Marie helped the others out. All the focus was on Alice as they moved as a group towards the automatic doors which slid open on their tracks. That was when Mr. Grey decided to not let things go as his partner watched from the car.

“We are not here as your chauffer service” Mr. Grey said angerly.

“I don’t care” Marie replied, not backing down. “You’ve been wasting your time for months, it’s about time that you did something useful.”

Mr. Grey stepped forward, an outraged look on his face. Only to get his head slammed into the nearest wall by Kage.

“What is it with the women in your family?” Kage asked in Japanese as Mr. Grey slid to the floor unconscious. Only the driver of the car noticed, and he was staring at them slack-jawed. “Ever heard that the easiest way to win a fight is to not be there?”

Marie just shrugged in reply.
 
Last edited:
Henriette and Mrs. Lane have just found out that Marie is a VERY good friend to have and the CIA Field Office, Montreal have found out that Marie von Mischner-Blackwood is not someone to cross.
Meanwhile the British team that has been following Marie around is going to report that "Code Name Kitten knows Ninjas, that's right Ninjas"
As for "Mr. Grey" and friend they are going to look back on their days in Montreal as the place where their careers in the CIA went wrong as they are shipped to their next assignment to an American oil company base in Siberia under their new cover story that they are a couple of "consultants' from the home office.
On the ride back home, Sir Malcolm was heard to mutter "She's her mother's daughter" over and over again.
 
Oh Marie, you are FAR more like Kat than you will EVER admit.

When Kat hears about this, all of it, she will be grinning like the proverbial feline that inherited a Creamery.
 
Oh Marie, you are FAR more like Kat than you will EVER admit.
Yes indeed. Particularly sticking up for those who are being looked down upon by prurient 'society' and when people need urgent help, using everything at your disposal (and thinking about the consequences/dealing with the emotional load of her actions after the fact).
 
I can't wait for the reaction from Margot to what her granddaughter Marie just pulled off and how all of Margot's friends is going to view it.
The fact that it is Margot who is leading the charge to exclude the Lanes from Montreal society and now it seems that the granddaughter is embracing the Lanes and is a true friend to Henriette is going to cause some problems for Margot.
We must remember that Marie has a higher social ranking, a MUCH HIGHER ranking then Margot and that is going to cause a shift to the side of the Lanes, story bonus points if someone from the German Imperial Family makes a State visit to Canada with a stop in Montreal could show the disparity of social ranking between Margot and Marie.
 
Part 136, Chapter 2337
Chapter Two Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-Seven



9th November 1974

Montreal, Canada

There were few certainties in life as Sir Malcolm had discovered. There were those which were expected such as death and taxes. There were others though and a big one was that Marie Alexandra Blackwood; she had apparently dropped the von Mischner part when she had enrolled at University, was still very much her mother’s daughter.

Marie commandeering the car that was being used by part of one of the surveillance teams that had been tracking her was unexpected. Malcolm was proud that his granddaughter had acted decisively at a moment which it was called for, yet at the same time he also had to stop himself from yelling at her for acting in such a reckless manner.

The Special Branch of the RCMP wasn’t exactly thrilled that Marie had blown up the CIA operation. They had been able to discern a great deal about the methods of the Americans by tracking them as they had followed Marie around Montreal. All of that had caused Marie to reveal that she paid careful attention to detail and certain patterns. So, she had spotted the men following her and had saved the information for when it might be useful. If Malcolm had to guess, that was entirely the influence of her father. God help anyone stupid enough to follow Katherine around like that. The Tigress would burn their world down and dance in the ashes.

Regrettably, Margot wasn’t taking Marie’s friendship with the Lane family well. She had frozen Patricia Lane out of her social circle after her daughter had unexpectedly become pregnant and her boyfriend had skipped town as too many young men tended to do. Now she learned that Marie had spent the last few weeks helping Henriette and the trip to the hospital was because Henriette’s daughter Alice had gotten sick with an upper respiratory infection that had resulted in an ear infection. The Pediatrician who Malcolm had referred to the family had told them that Alice was responding well to the medications, and they were keeping her under observation for the next few days. By then though, the cat was out of the bag. Margot saw it as her granddaughter undermining her moral authority because that was the lens through which she looked at the world. Malcolm had been married to Margot for decades and had seen how she had become what she was over the years. If he had to guess where the problem started, it was when those around her became afraid to tell her no as she demanded others live as she saw fit.

Then three decades earlier, this strange German woman entered the picture who was just as formidable as Margot and wasn’t in the least bit afraid of her disapproval. The way she lived her life was in almost the exact opposite manner as Margot had. Fortunately for everyone, Katherine had preferred to remain on the far side of the Atlantic most of the time. Now though, Malcolm watched as Marie had quickly figured out that she would never beat Margot at her own game. Instead, she had gone about living her life in a manner which threw all of Margot’s petty vindictiveness and hypocrisy into sharp relief entirely by accident. Malcolm had watched as everyone had congratulated them about how brave and selfless Marie was, while Margot was at a complete loss over how to deal with the matter.



Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

A small group of tourists gawked at Juan as he walked down the street leading his horse past them. To them he was like something from a movie, one going so far as to compare him to the famous Cowboys in the far north. The difference was that the American Frontier had been officially closed decades earlier. Here in Patagonia things had remained wild. However, looking around Rio Gallegos it was obvious that change was coming whether those like Juan liked it or not.

“Go to the arsehole of the Americas and make a new friend” Juan muttered to himself as he walked through the center of town, paraphrasing his grandfather, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life working for your father and older brother?”

The difficulty for Juan was that he knew his grandfather was right about that. He had been the younger brother himself until he had sought adventure and that had taken him around the world. He’d made his fortune and returned to Argentina as one of the most powerful and wealthy men in the country. Now it was Juan’s turn and his grandfather told him that he could start by protecting the family interests in Rio Gallegos.

Turning a corner, he saw the gates of the City Garrison. It also housed the Depot which was where he had been sent in the first place. The rub was that he couldn’t exactly state his purpose here, so as he tied his horse to the hitching post he looked at the sign that was his other point of entry. The one on the building that was offering locals employment to the Kaiser for a season.

The man behind the counter looked banefully at Juan as he walked in.
“Gaucho?” He asked, “Don’t most of you prefer to work out in the sheep stations during the summer.”

“I have my reasons” Juan replied.

“We don’t like legal entanglements” The man said, “So if you think that you can escape authorities this way you are mistaken.”

“Nothing like that” Juan said, but he knew that an exhaustive check on everything he said would take place.

“So, what exactly do you bring to the table?”

“I’ve my own horse, a Caesar Mike rifle, and a forty-five revolver” Juan replied, “I was also a Cabo in the Territorial Volunteers.”

The rifle was one of the 6.5mm CZ Carbines that were common throughout Patagonia, to which somewhere along the line the slang term “Caesar Mike” had stuck. The horse and revolver had been loaned to Juan by his grandfather, but with no set date for him to return them.

“You are proficient in those weapons?”

“Yes” Juan replied.

“And you seem to be a bit young to have been a Cabo” The man said.

“They weren’t picky when they needed every man to fight the Chileans” Juan said, knowing full well that the instant this man got a chance, he would be on the phone confirming what he had just said.

“Well, sign here and then we’ll will see about that” The man said handing Juan several sheets of paper. Juan saw that they authorized the German Army to conduct a background check and that he agreed to accept employment from the German Government for the next six months, or such time as they no longer needed his services. He signed his name; Juan Sebastián Ibarra on the dotted line.
 
Last edited:
Margot was at a complete loss over how to deal with the matter.

I suspect she will resort to the other "Margotvision"(TM) response:
Ignore it ever happened and wipe it from existence, after all, the darling daughter of her perfect son could never go against her wishes.
 
Ha! and so we start another thread. Peabody-Martini I love how you weave in new characters to keep the story going.
It's always so seemless. Especially because sometimes characters pop up that get moved to the background again relatively quickly. That way it always remains a bit of guess who is going to be important. And that doesnt really allow us to ignore new characters, as is quite common, at least for myself, for background characters.

It also engages us in speculation, as to how the new character will weave into the plot and the the already existing familiar characters. Always leaving us wanting more.

How dare you PBM... x'D
 
Langley, Virginia, USA.

Deputy Director, Operations: "OK, what the fuck went wrong in Montreal?"
Head of the Canada Desk: "Not sure, but it looks as if one of our surveillance teams got sloppy and got made. Probably because they're following a pretty co-ed. Then, after the subject bullied them into driving her and her friend, one of our people tried to assault her in front of witnesses. Including what appears to be a Japanese national, who intervened."
Head of the German Desk (reading file): "Marie von Mischner-Blackwood might be a "pretty co-ed", but I'm not surprised she made our people. Being kidnapped by terrorists when you're a little kid tends to focus your awareness on your surroundings. Something her mother would definitely have reinforced. Hell, she's probably made every team we had watching her."
DDO: "You think she's a player?"
HoGD: "Not as yet. She would have called an ambulance or a cab if she was. But as for the future?" (Shrugs)
HoCD: "I tend to agree. She was faced with an emergency and decided to make our surveillance work for her."
DDO: "What about the idiot who tried to assault her at the hospital?"
HoCD: "The Canadians have PNG'd him, so he's getting a transfer to our listening post on Little Diomede Island for a year or two. That should cool him down a little."

Idiot Agent (looking at a map): "FUCK!!!"


 
Last edited:
Top