The Rampant Storm by J. Alan Field

Author:J. Alan Field [Field, J. Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: James A. Field
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

19: Spider

Beresford

Planet Gerrha

It was all starting to unravel…

As Hanley Pascoe ambled along the walkways of Hutchinson Park, he went over everything in his mind. He and Charlotte had another fight last night. Their worthless son Willie and his pregnant girlfriend wanted to move in with them. That discussion quickly degenerated into a shouting match, and she threatened to divorce him—again. These days, a week didn’t go by without Charlotte mentioning a possible divorce. Little did she realize that her threats weren’t necessary since she was only days away from being rid of him for good.

At work, it was obvious that his usefulness to Gerrhan Intelligence had ended. A few days ago, Supervisor Geldart handed him a pile of busywork. He might not have been the most dynamic staffer they ever had, but up until now, Pascoe had always been deemed competent enough to work on relevant projects. Suddenly, it was busywork.

And to top it all off, there was the bizarre meeting with Admiral Choi this morning. The admiral was waiting for him when he arrived at his office—said she needed to speak with him privately. She tried to befriend him, telling him he was one of the few people in Gerrhan Intelligence she could trust. Brin Choi might be many things: a traitor, a warrior, a brilliant strategist, but an actress she was not. It was an insincere, wooden performance.

He was on his way to meet with Eden Southwell in Hutchinson Park, a large public green space located in the middle of Beresford. With gardens, sports fields, playgrounds, and trails, the area was modeled on an Old Earth location called Central Park. It was the third time he had met Eden here. All in all, he preferred her bedroom, but the park was nice too.

“What a gorgeous day,” she said as he sat down next to her on a comfortable park bench. They met beside St. George Pond, a pleasant, shady spot near the center of the park.

“Not as gorgeous as you,” he said, cringing to himself. Trite, Hanley, very trite—you can do better.

She shifted her body sideways to face him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“You sounded so down on the mobile,” Eden said in her sympathetic voice. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“They’re on to me at work. I had a visit from Admiral Choi this morning.”

“Ooh, I hear she’s a very beautiful woman. Should I be jealous?”

Twisting his body around to face her, he wore an anxious expression. “Look, Choi gave me this big routine about how she and Geldart were going to move Doctor Acree from Central Medical to a facility in Lucasburg. Choi wanted to know what I thought of the plan—she said that Geldart didn’t want me in on it, but that she valued my opinion.”

Eden’s smile faded slightly. “They’re moving him? That’s going to complicate things. What did you tell her, baby?”

“I played along, but it’s all nonsense. Acree isn’t even in Central Medical—he was moved days ago.”

“They moved him without telling you?”

“Correct—but I found out about it, and I know his present location.

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