Chapter Nine Hundred Ninety-Four
12th January 1953
Washington D.C.
It was on Monday afternoon that Nancy collapsed emotionally. For the last two days since she had gotten home she had felt like she was being followed whenever she stepped out of her apartment. She had briefly talked to a friend who she had run into in the market and that woman had understandably not wanted to speak with Nancy. It wasn’t just R&A at State, it was happening throughout the Government. The Administration had discovered that several high-level programs had been sabotaged and the involvement of German agents were suspected. It had something to do with that bomb test that the British had performed off the coast of Australia. Nancy had no idea what those things to do with each other but according to her friend it was going beyond just people with German grandparents who were seen as a little too chummy with their cousins. It was anyone who stood out. Suspected Communists and Homosexuals were getting the axe as well. Sometimes it was just Department Heads using it as an excuse to go after people they simply didn’t like. It had been that last realization that had caused Nancy to really fall apart. Paul Finley had never liked her and with his past history with Kat… He was using Nancy in a twisted attempt to get even. Because Nancy was just one of what sounded like hundreds of professionals who were being dismissed and suspended. It would be years before Finley was taken to task, if he ever was.
Kat’s advice to her when she had taken the transfer to R&A had seemed like a joke at the time. Now, the deeper meaning was plain. “If you get into trouble, don’t attempt to contact me” was what Kat had said. Instead she had written down a phone number and a strange word, she told her to memorize it.
Laying on her bed weeping and staring at the crack in the ceiling and her stomach in knots, Nancy remembered that phone number. She couldn’t call it from here, obviously. Washing her face, she knew that she needed to escape, and that phone number was the only lifeline she had.
Walking to the elevator she pressed the button and waited for it nervously. Fortunately, it was empty when it arrived. Closing the gate, Nancy watched as the elevator descended to the ground floor. Stepping off the elevator, Nancy clutched her purse as she walked through the lobby and out into the streets. It was a cold night and she realized she should have brought a heavier coat.
Walking into a local bar Nancy saw that there was a football game on the television and a group of men who looked like D.C. Office workers watching it. If anyone was following Nancy they wouldn’t find this out of character, not if they had been watching her for the last couple months. Walking to the back to the payphone Nancy put a nickel in the phone and started dialing. An automated voice said that she needed to deposit more money if she wanted to complete the call. It cost her fifty cents, her outrage at getting ripped off temporarily overcame her anxiety. Then she heard the phone ring once and a friendly sounding voice on the other end came on. “Thank you for calling MacGregor Farms fine maple syrup” A woman’s voice said, “How may I direct your call?”
For a second Nancy wondered if Kat had pulled a horrific prank on her.
“Fine Amber from Mr. Smith, his friends call him Red” Nancy said feeling very foolish. Odds were that this woman was going to think that she was talking gibberish.
“Please hold” The woman’s voice said.
Nancy was left hanging on the phone for a long minute.
“No names” A man’s voice said, “I need you to follow my instructions carefully.”
“Yes” Nancy said, wondering how far down the rabbit hole she was going.
New York City, New York
The entire Law Firm was celebrating as the paperwork was finally signed. After years of painstaking negotiations, they had finally reached a settlement in the lawsuit the Romanov Family and the Russian Government had been pursuing against the US Government and an assortment of American Corporations. While the total funds that were to be repatriated to Russia were less than what many thought was fair, the forgiveness of the loans made to the Russian Empire were probably more valuable. Gia was happy that Russia would get a fresh start and she was finally going home. She had been following the news and had realized that the United States was growing less friendly for someone like her by the hour.
Hubert said that it seemed like it was right back to the days of “Liberty Cabbage” and he had needed to tell Gia what that meant. It had been just a few months earlier that the German Heer and the US Army had been working together as allies to restore order to Mexico. Now, the American public had spun on a dime and the German Empire was the enemy again. Gia personally didn’t understand what had happened, she just knew that she was boarding a plane in a few hours.
“We’re going to miss you” Penelope said, “I won’t miss some of your pastimes though.”
“Thank you for having me as a guest” Gia replied.
“We didn’t do it out of the goodness of our hearts” Hubert said, “With the amount that the Russian Government is paying this firm and the exposure we got, we are making out just fine.”
“That’s good” Gia replied.
