NationStates Jolt Archive

Aconar, the Resurgent Dream

Rosie Bagman was looked down at the baby boy in her arms and smiled. She couldn’t remember such a contented feeling. She gently patted her baby on the back. The plump little infant smiled a little in his sleep and shifted just slightly. Rosie took a moment to look him over. He was a human baby. Rosie herself was a Boggan but the only trait the boy seemed to have clearly inherited from her was his eyebrows, already a little bushy even at birth. Other than that, she thought he took after his father. That thought brought a small frown to Rosie’s face. She didn’t know if her son would ever get to meet his father. The brief relationship had been the result of an unlikely and rather tragic set of circumstances. It was certainly nothing she could ever reveal without putting the man in mortal danger. He was, after all, Iesian, and she wasn’t exactly human. In Iesus Christi, he would be killed for their love if it were ever discovered. If he fled, his family would be killed to punish him. That was just how things were and there wasn’t anything Rosie could do to change them.

“Your daddy was a brave man, Gerard.” Rosie said. She had named the baby for his father. “He was a good man too. He was raised in a harsh country and he’s had some harsh experiences but he was … he is … a good man who risked his life for Mommy and some of Mommy’s friends. I’m going to make sure you know that when you grow up, even though Daddy probably won’t be around.” She sighed a little as she watched her son slowly open his eyes.

The nurse stepped back into the room. Like Rosie, she was a Boggan, although her eyebrows were a good deal thicker and bushier and she was a good three inches shorter and twenty pounds heavier than Rosie. However, Rosie was too caught up in the joys of motherhood and in bittersweet memories of a lost love to envy the other Boggan her superior beauty. She just smiled at the nurse. “Can I hold him a little longer?”

“A little longer, ma’am, but you do need your rest. You’ve just had a baby after all.” the nurse said with a small smile, stepping back to stand in the doorway. Rosie noted, however, that she didn’t actually leave the room. She was probably worried that Rosie would fall asleep with the baby in her arms. Rosie didn’t blame her. She felt great joy but she also felt exhausted and had ever since the delivery. It had been a rough one and Rosie needed her rest before she went home the next day.

Rosie didn’t, however, just fall asleep while holding her baby. She had the presence of mind to summon the nurse and hand over little Gerard before closing her eyes for a night of rather deep slumber. When she woke up, her friend Sarah would be at the hospital to take her and her newborn home and then she could…No. As exciting as it was, motherhood did mean she wouldn’t be relaxing much for some time. But then she could settle in and take stock of her life.

After Rosie was sound a sleep, the Boggan nurse returned and paused in the doorway to check in on her kithsister. While she was standing there, a young Sluagh nurse slipped up next to her whispered hoarsely “Miss Bagman has had the child?”

“So. She had a boy. Oh Dear….Gerard..Gerard…Gerard….you silly boy what have you done…”
Rachel Cox rubbed the bridge of her nose and folded the letter neatly before carefully placing it in the top draw of the desk. She sipped her cup of Tea and mentally outlined the request she’d give her ‘friend’….

Mrs Rachel Cox was closer to seventy than she dared admit. She’d lived in Iesus Christi her entire life, and was a lifetime member and regional President of the Iesus Nationalist Socialist Party but was in no way a Iesus fascist nationalist…..

The Cox family was an old traditional Iesus family, that could track its lineage back to the early Middle ages. The family had survived and prospered in pre fascist Iesus Christi and risen to the top - Land, money and titles..they had it all.
Then the revolution came. Her father, the 16th Duke of Shilohfitz, had seen the writing on the wall long before the blood had flowe. He’d backed the right horse from the start. He’d given money and support to the "Young Jackals" in the armed forces...he’d become a personal friend of a nasty and extreme radical young Officer(who despite his radical leanings was of excellent breeding) Matthew Iesus…thus when most Aristocracy and royalty was being used to fertilise the rugby fields…The Cox family had slid inside the fascist structure of the new totalitarian theocracy.
The ‘Duke’ had always said ‘blood would out’, Fascism was a fleeting phase that Iesus would outgrow and eventually ‘People of Character’ would be in charge again. Still as much as he detested the upstart military he did admire their devotion to purity and pointed out to his children that ‘Strength of will to preserve the blood’ was a laudable characteristic in the revolution.
As it turned out fascism wasn’t just a passing phase but had become quite entrenched in Iesus life…still again the family had survived and prospered. Rachel had seven children to a Military husband who had eventually got himself blown up in some foreign scuffle…not that Rachel had minded much…the blood survived in her children..
What Rachel did mind was her youngest son. She’d had him late and he’d always been an over sensitive child. He’d passed his university exams with ease and had served with distinction during his compulsory service in the Iesus armed forces….but after that he’d left the comfort of the Party position he’d been offered for some mindless job in some poxy Navy salvage team. If this insult wasn’t bad enough it now turned out that during his last ‘adventure’ he’d fallen in with some metahumans and been ‘forced’ to allow them to go free.
Using her discreet contacts, Rachel had enquired about the fate of the Metahumans her son had risked his life for and learned…she shuddered when she thought of it…one had become pregnant during the ‘ordeal’…. to the Captain of the Iesus expedition… her own son!

In her anger Rachel could hear the words of her father “the blood will out”….
It was then she had decided to give that child a chance at a real life…she’d decided that the child would be raised a Cox.
Now Rachel knew the child was born, but her own contacts were now of less use...she needed external assistance...

She spoke softly into the phone “Arh..My dear Auggie..how goes it? Oh good good…glad to hear it…I dont mean to be forward but I've got a bit of a tiss here....I don’t suppose you know of any foreign chaps who could do me a quiet favour?”

Sebastian Haar frowned slightly as he listened to the voice on the other end of the telephone. "Iesus Christi?...What the Hell does the old bat...No...We can't just...Well, I'm at least going to whack the bitch. I mean, come on. But we have a bit of a sales problem in Iesus Christi of late...Yeah, I know they sacked her. We're up against that spineless worm now, what's his name? At least the dyke had a sort of...Yeah, yeah, I know. Can you get me a visa?...Sounds good. I'll be in St. Augustine by this weekend."

Haar hung up the phone with a deep sigh. He stepped out of his study into the spacious living room of his Lutherstadt townhouse. His son and daughter were sitting on the couch, watching a Lanerian children's cartoon. Haar hung his head slightly. He spoke English but he didn't like how much English informed the daily lives of his kids. He wanted them to grow up rooted in their own culture and traditions. Still, he didn't say anything as he passed them to head into the kitchen where his wife was baking a roast for dinner. "I'm going to have to go out of the country for a few days, sweetie." he said. "You and the kids will be fine until I get back, won't you?"

“…everything appears in order…” The blonde athletic Customs Officer sounded disappointed ..”Welcome back to Iesus Christi Mr Joyce…” She made the word ‘welcome’ sound like a death threat…Icy didn’t cover her attitude as she handed Sebastian Haar back his papers.
“NEXT!”
Sebastian picked up his luggage and headed out into the arrival lounge, his contact didn’t take long to approach him.
A giant of a man wearing a Ministry Troopers uniform (with a voice that sounded as if mental activity didn’t come naturally to him) rumbled up to Haar “Mr Joyce. My name is Corporal Warne. The car is outside and you are expected immediately.. I’ll take your bags….”

Two other Ministry troopers sat in the back seat of the Ministry car, and none of the three Iesusians made conversation as they drove into the sunny Iesus country side. No of the numerous roadblocks stop the car as it drove along….the Ministry number plate like some talisman against regular authority.

The Country estate looked out of place from the rest of the architecture Haar had seen. It was elegant and massive, gently situated within secluded rolling pastures. It totally lacked the Stalinist looked of St Augustine and clearly dated back to a time when beauty mattered more.

“The servants will get the bags…best we get inside…” Corporal Warne rumbled to Haar. The two men in the back seat quietly slid out of the car and stood behind Haar as the Corporal lead the way up the stairs.

Wearing a sundress and a overly large sunhat Rachel Cox sat sunning herself on the veranda, she sipped her lemonade and straightened her sundress as she saw the men approaching up the steps.
“ Oh hello. My I was expecting you earlier…plane running late was it? Nevemind…drink? Fantastic weather isn’t it….I hope the boys were nice to you…sorry for the James Bond villain routine but they do so enjoy their jobs…Please sit..the bamboo chairs are imported from Midlonia…quite Good for foreign stuff really…”

Haar snorted slightly. "Midlonia ... a bunch of nutters if you ask me but they can at least make furniture. So I understand you have a job for me?"

“Yes well. I cant actually say I’ve meet any…this aside…
I want you to obtain for me a child. A particular child….
Rosie Bagman has had a child in Aconar, the Resurgent Dream. The child’s name is Gerard…
I want that child…alive and brought to me. Frankly I don’t personally care what happens to the mutt Rosie, but for sake of honour I’d prefer she wasn’t harmed….of course should she need to be neutralised to obtain the child…we’ll…Do what needs to be done…
Sure you wont have a lemonade? Its frightfully good…”

"For the sake of honour?" Haar asked with a slight hint of amusement in his voice. "That is certainly an interesting interpretation, if I might say so. However, leaving the mother alive and free poses quite a few problems. You are a mother yourself. I think that you could easily understand how she is likely to feel and to what lengths she will likely be willing to go in attempting to recover her child. Besides ... I would have figures ... Oh, never mind. I think I will have a lemonade after all."

Haar settled back into his seat with an almost languid air of self-assurance. "So give me some more specific information to go on. What will compensation be like? Is there any specific information you need me to obtain as well? How do you want the pup treated? So on and so forth."

The foreigner smiled with a hungry grin. "This job promises to be quite interesting so far. It's been a long time since I've had much of a call for human infants."

Rachel poured the lemonade with a smile “Humour an old woman who’s becoming sensitive in her dotage… Unless unavoidable I’d prefer…for honours sake..the mother to be unmolested. Besides I don’t think any of her sort would find removing the child from Iesus an easy task. We don’t like outsiders you know.
We’ll gladly reimburse you for your work, it shouldnt trouble a man of your skill to find and liberate the child. You’ll have to excuse me ....but I’m not sure what a child is worth…but to me this child is worth two million dollars. Also the child is not to be mistreated at all….not a mark..not a bruise. I and everyone I know will be quite upset if the child is harmed.”

"Liberating? I like that." Haar said in the same borderling insolent tone he seemed to fall back into everytime Mrs. Cox displayed some idea of herself as a decent person.

"Yes. Liberating. Restoring Balance." Rachel felt her skin crawl as Haar talked. He was so ...common.

"And you're sure you don't want the mother? She did defile your son after all." Haar pressed.

Rachel gave Haar a cold look "That is none of your concern and you'd find it sensible not to mention such things again. I want the Child, if she gets in the way do what you must...other than that we dont make war on innocent people."

Haar actually laughed out loud at that one. "Yeah. Neither do I. I'm just in a really big neighborhood watch. Anyway, I'll take the job for three million. If mommy makes troubles later, though, don't blame me."

Rachel shuddered inwardly. Christ in heaven this man was such a pig... "Yes well. As long as the 'watch' does its job, three million it is...money well spent. Would you like the money directed into accounts or sent through our mutual friends? Oh and another thing: I will blame you if something goes wrong. Be sure of it."

"Then don't tell me to leave loose ends" he answered curtly.

"It isn’t a loose end. The Mutt shouldn’t be a problem for a man with your skills. If you can’t handle this, then I'm sure we can find someone else...but I was led to believe you were more than able"

"Actually, isn't...Nevermind." he said with the same insufferable smile. "I'll get you the baby for three million. After that, it's in your hands. Anything else?"

"That will be wonderful. I don’t think there is anything else...our mutual friends will keep us in contact."

“Thank Heavens he’s gone…”
Mrs Cox watched the car depart her property with a deep sense of thanks. That foreigner made her skin crawl…that she needed his help made it all the worse. Still, she mused, in the big scheme of things…it was right that those type of people existed…even vulgar servants had a use after all.
Maybe she'd have him 'vanished' next time he visited Iesus Christi, it would be a petty thing to do, but the thought made Rachel smile.

The Afternoon passed lazily away as Rachel dozed.
“Napping Mater…you should be careful you don’t get sun burn..”
Rachel looked up with a start and then smiled. “You always cared about your old mums health…always a sensitive boy Gerard…”
Gerard smiled, kissed his mothers cheek and took a seat. “Not so old…only the good die young, you’ll be here till hell freezes over…”
With a snort Rachel sipped her Lemonade “How is hell then? Military salvage work….for God’s sake Gerard you’re little better than a dock worker…”
“I’m still on leave. I haven’t been reassigned yet. But somehow I think you know this already…don’t look so innocent. I suppose you’ll be happy to know I’m rejoining the colours…Back into the Navy proper. “
Another snort “Yes I've heard that too. Got a taste for the maritime it seems. I don’t know where you get it from, we aren’t nautical people in this family Gerard…still it’s a move up I suppose. Oh by the way your brothers send their regards, Timothy wife is pregnant and Julian is flowering in St Augustine. Your sisters are well also…Still no news about Alice…I do so wish they’d set a date for the wedding. I expect you to be at Vincents baptism and ...”
Gerard cut her off mid sentence “Had visitors mum?” He poked at the empty lemonade glass next to his seat.
“Just an old friend…now..lets go inside before I burn up…oh! I spoke with Mrs De Water. She says young Ruth has been asking after you. You were always sweet on her…I said I was sure you’d love to catch up with her…”

It was almost a month later when Haar actually put his plan into action. He and his men had spent much of the interim time stalking Bagman. They knew when she worked, when she ate, when she slept. They knew who her friends were and how often she saw them. They knew what television programs she enjoyed and what babysitters she used. They knew everything anyone could learn from external observation.

They also noticed a few things about the other tenants in the building. Particularly, they noticed an especially lonely seeming Trolless who lived a few doors down from Bagman. With some distaste, one of Haar's men began courting the woman. He pushed the relationship and was invited up by his new lover by the third date. That part he didn't mind as much.

The next time Haar's man visited his Troll lover in her apartment, he came prepared. After sleeping with her, he slipped a small cold iron disc into her mouth as she slept and then followed it with a rag to silence screaming. Death was horrific but fairly swift. Using a simple trick with a credit card, he was able to get into Bagman's room while she slept, sedate her with chloroform to keep her quiet and out of the way and then to put the baby in his sack and head out the door as though he were leaving from one of his romantic rendezvous. He was out of the area by the time Bagman came to and discovered her baby missing.

Bagman called the police immediately. Between the confused tenants, the angry and horrified officers and the wailing mother, no one searched all the other apartments. It took another three days before the lonely Trolless was ever found.

The 'Under Associate for co-operation and improved relations' Max Winick had an office in the Iesus Embassy but he rarely used it. His role within the embassy was pure fiction – his real job was to liase with factions within TRD that were approachable when it came to less than honest business.
Flesh trafficking and drugs/arms sales was classed as Winicks speciality, but he was also working hard on a local businessman trying to convince him to open a factory in Iesus were Labour was cheap, expendable and worked around the clock….of course Winick remained discreet to avoid the International Law Department coming down on him and his colleagues.
Now Winick had been assigned as special liaison for a special child purchase…the case was to have his total attention. He didn’t ask why it required his personal attention…asking questions in the Ministry was unhealthy.
He sat by the phone, patiently waiting.


With his Mother sleeping, Gerard snuck into the study. He felt like a naughty child but he felt his mother was up to something. She had a smug smile that only ever was connected with her wrangling in someone’s personal life…
He rattled the desk drawers…locked…well she was as paranoid as usual…
He looked into the trashcan, fishing about in it. Nothing.
He sat himself down. There was no use trying the PC, it was be passworded and his mother preferred writing anyhow. With a frown Gerard looked closer at the writing pad. There was nothing written on it ,but he could almost make out the imprint from the last letter she had written. He picked up a pencil and gently brushed it over the paper.
Slowly words appeared on the paper..
Rosie Bagman

Haar had the phone number of someone at the Iesian embassy. He wasn't looking forward to calling it. The more he knew of the Iesians the more any contact with them made even his hardened and insensitive skin crawl. But a paying job as a paying job and eventually he gave Winick a ring from an pre-paid (and thus unregistered) mobile phone without any global positioning functions. "Hello, I'm looking for a Max Winick? This is Sebastian Haar."

Bagman, meanwhile, was so distraught that she could barely think. She hadn't had any natural sleep since the kidnapping. She was constantly trying to contact authorities on various levels and plead for her child and was just as constantly told that they were doing all they could. Sarah Ericsson, the captain of the women's football team at university and one of the women she'd gone through her rough experience of the Iesians with came to stay with her to help her through things.

It was only after a number of frustrating levels to law enforcement at all levels that Bagman got a call from the International Law Department asking her to come in as soon as possible and speak to a Special Agent Hannah Cohen.

“This is Max Winick. What a pleasure to hear from you Mr Haar. I trust everything is under control…no problems I trust? Is our little package ready yet?”


Gerard left the estate without a word to his mother. He’d considered for a moment confronting her but the reality of the situation had bitten home…He’d never be able to help Rosie if his Mother knew he was onto her.
He cursed the nosy old cow..he hadn’t told her anything but yet she’d wormed the information out of others clearly, now he simply prayed Rosie wasn’t dead already.

He arrived back at his apartment fuming but prepared. He flicked through his address book and found the number he wanted..
“Janey Darling. Its Gerard, yes….long-time no see…Fred is well? Excellent… I’ve been talking to mummy and well….I’ve decided she’s right and I need a break…oh I know…Look..could you arrange me a ticket to T.R.D. Discreetly of course…I don’t want everyone knowing family business..mummy says you’re to keep this between you and I…by the way…what should I buy her as a present while I’m there…you know how she loves surprise presents..haha…Yes any name is fine to travel under…Thanks Angel…see you at the baptism kiss kiss…”

Less than twenty four hours latter Gerard was boarding his flight at the Saint Augustine International airport. His passport recorded his name as “Gerard Mills” and listed him as member of Iesus Embassy in TRD. Whatever else Gerard thought of his sister Jane, she certainly was good at getting things done.

"Perfectly ready, Mr. Winick." Haar answered. "Where would you like it?"

Winick played with the phone cord "Excellent, well. I'd prefer if the goods were brought as close to us as possible. You could bring it straight to us, but if thats alittle open for you...theres a local cafe I like having morning tea..the Kobol. Maybe you'd like to meet there?"


Gerard arrived and suddenly realized he was quite out of his depth. The foreign airport wasnt like Iesus airports at all, it, the foriegn air even smelt wrong....he held his diplomatic passport like a icon of protection.

"I'll see you at the Kobol." Haar said. "Come alone. If I get the impression that you have ... guests ... I won't be able to give you what you're looking for. Are we clear?"

People of all sorts were moving about Fenn International Airport, getting snacks, buying last minute reading material, disembarking, boarding, waiting for flights or working there. Most of the people seemed a little rushed but they were generally relaxed. No one seemed to take any special notice of Gerard, although the flight from St. Augustine had been virtually empty. Signs in a dozen different languages informed him where to go to pick up his baggage, to board a bus, to board a train (surface or metro), to hail a taxi or to rent a personal car. Other signs told him how to get to the airport's hotel, where the airport restaurants and clubs were, where to get information to use on his stay. It seemed everything one might want was indicated with signs and arrows. Aside from the many signs, there were also adds for all sorts of products, mostly leisure products. The ads tended to be witty and a bit gaudy but most people seemed to walk by them without looking. They were ubiquitous and seemed to have faded into the background for the locals.

"we are clear, I hope there will be no problems, this package is important."


Gerard walked around looking for what he needed. He changed some money, fumbling the notes as he stuffed them in his wallet...he'd never really got 'the hang' of money...prices and cost wasnt something he'd ever had to worry about...
He brought himself a pre-paid cell phone and some airtime(after asking the shopgirl painfully dumb questions as he tried to figure out how exactly this technology worked and if the government tracked calls/ owned the network).
Next he called the Iesus Embassy from a phone booth, telling them he'd make his own way to the embassy and thus wouldnt need a driver.
After that he approached a information desk "Is your government tracking system open to the public, and if so is it possible for me to locate a person on this network?"

The "shopgirl," who was actually a forty year-old fat man named Rudy, grudgingly explained to Gerard that the government did not own the network, could not hear the calls and could not track. He explained that it was not equipped with a GPS and that it was a fairly simple phone. He told Gerard how to buy more minutes when he ran out. It cost almost as much as buying a new phone entirely.

The young woman at the information desk smiled politely at Gerard as she tilted her head. "I'm sorry, sir. I really don't know what you're talking about. Government tracking system for what?"

Gerard smiled "Perhaps I'm not making myself clear....do you have some sort of government register I can use to find out someones phone number or address? I have the womans name and race. Rosie Bagman, she is a metahuman of the Boggan type."
Gerard had a smiled fixed to his face but atleast this girl was more friendly than that Rudy fellow. Gerard felt somewhat sorry for Rudy that he had a job as a shopgirl but in his gut he left Ruby had jewed him on the price of the phone...Gerard thought about it some more...wasnt Rudy a Jewish name?

"Do you know what Member she lives in?" the woman asked.

"Member? errr no...no idea sorry..." Gerard gave a shy smile "I'm sorry, I hope this wont be a problem. You do things very differently here."

The woman nodded a little. She went over to her computer and started searching. She was working on the computer for about five or six minutes. "Here we go, there was a Rosie Bagman involved in a maritime accident a year or so ago. It says here that she was a rugby player for the University of Saraben Wyverns. That's in Aconar."

She pulled back from the computer and went over to her telephone, dialing a number briefly. "Aconar ... Rosie Bagman ... Alright ... No, no thank you ... Thank you. You too."

She hung up the phone and turned back to Gerard. "Her number is (124) 512-4512. Her address isn't publically listed. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

The woman smiled kindly and began closing windows on the computer as she listened to the Iesian.

Gerard noted the number down. "Excellent.How does one get to Aconar? I know I must sound a idiot..." he smiled sweetly at the woman "But you've been so helpful...are all women here so bright and beautiful?"

"You're flattering me." the woman said with a slight blush. "But you'll need to get tickets on another flight to get to Aconar. It's on an island pretty far from New Amsterdam."

Gerard laughed "I'm sorry...just you are..well...anyhow..my names Gerard...I'm new around here...like you cant guess that!" He gave her a silly smile "Ok, so I guess I should go buy these tickets..any airline you'd advise?...come to think of it..I dont have anywhere to stay yet...any hotels around here you like?"

"The New Amsterdam Arms is pretty good. That's where a lot of the flight staff stay overnight. It's not that expensive. I'd also recomment Gryffon Air. They have a lot of flights out there, pretty inexpensive and you get a meal and movie." she said.

"Expense isnt a issue...but if you say its good then i'll book those, do I book through the governent control agent or the enterprises themselves?" Gerard wasnt being smug....money simply had never been an issue for him...in many ways he was a child.
"You've been so kind, thank you for your time. I'd offer to buy you a drink but where i'm from thats not allowed...." He gave the woman a boyish smile, it wasnt that he wasnt still in love with Rosie..he loved her deeply...he just couldnt help himself...flirting was a weakness that weighed upon his sinfull shoulders.

"You book through the enterprises themselves." the woman said. She then flushed slightly at his offer of a drink, lowering her eyes slightly. "Well, you're not there now, you're here and it's quite allowed. I'm Adriana, by the way." Of course, her nametag already said as much.

"arh..ok...I'll get onto that....thanks for your time... Adriana, thats a nice name...I can honestly say I've never heard it before. We'll I'd be honoured if you joined me for a drink once you're off work. I could go book the hotel and flight and could come pick you up when I'm done?" Again he gave a boyish innocent smile.


Inwardly Gerard now knew exactly what he had to do and it never honestly crossed his mind not to drag Adriana into the situation.

"Really?" Adriana said in some surprise. "I always thought it was a pretty common name. It certainly is in Maztlana. Anyway, I get off at eight. I'll meet you outside the front doors about a quarter after?"

Booking the hotel and the flight proved relatively easy. It was simply a matter of doing it and paying them. It did, however, give Gerard his first real glimpse of New Amsterdam. The city had one of the most impressive skylines in the Confederated Peoples, glimmering towers of glass and steel. Some of the most impressive tended to have a sort of pyramid structure at the very top, with the last few stories growing progressively smaller and the extra space being used for roof gardens and observation decks a hundred stories off the ground. Not that it was easy to make that out. The city was also one of the most diverse in the nation. Gerard certainly heard his share of not only English but French, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Gadic, Greek, German, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and maybe even more languages between the airport and the hotel. He saw people dressed in a wide variety of styles in every shape and color, including a number of non-humans. He saw brightly lit shops with a diversity of goods for sale. He saw brightly painted advertisements for beer with beautiful women on them and also vibrant street murals portraying scenes from the cities history, starting the arrival of the first Knootian settlers. Over all, New Amsterdam seemed a vibrant, dazzling and perhaps a bit hurried city, at least at the first glance.

"I'll meet you there..." Gerard winked and departed...

One word leapt into his mind when he looked around New Amsterdam.
"babylon"
The city was impressive with its fantastic skyline and melting pot of races, it was like no city in Iesus Christi...hell they didnt even have ID scanners.
Gerard was impressed but didnt feel..comfortable...
He knew this place had freedoms he'd only dreamed of, he knew this place was a sign of some of best things in the world...freedom..democracy..love..

Gerard felt a creeping paranoia slid over his body...everything seemed partially wrong. Extreme.
"decadent"
He whispered the word to himself and wondered if he was becoming a fascist..or mayb it was simply everything was so different....
Gerard booked his hotel and planes tickets quickly and without asking many questions, somewhere in the back of his head he knew there was a good chance that some drone from the embassy maybe keeping an eye on him and he didnt know if local security forces were watching him either...he would have to keep a conventional profile for a few days..Adriana would add nicely to his cover story...

Adriana did indeed keep her promise. She left her station to be replaced by another clerk who would be there until closing at two in the morning. She got her bag and took a few moments in the women's restroom to do her touch up her make-up. She then proceeded to the arranged meeting place to keep her date with the charming but strange young Iesian.

She looked rather good. She was still dressed in her smart airline uniform although she had removed her nametag. It consisted of a pressed white blouse, a red blazer, a red skirt that came down just below her knees, dark stockings or hose and red heels. Her raven black hair had good body and her rich, coffee complexion was without visible blemish. She was perhaps a little plumper than what might have been ideal but not excessively so. She smiled warmly when she saw Gerard. "There's my mysterious stranger. You know, I actually don't get asked out very much. To a lot of guys here, it seems like employees are pretty much invisible unless they need something. I guess it's like that everywhere."

Haar stepped into the Kobol. He was dressed like any professional in a dark blue suit. He carried an infant gently in his arms, as though it were his newborn son that he was watching. He had a baby seat with him as well. He smiled courteously as he stepped into the place, moving to a booth near the back and ordering a coffee and a sausage biscuit. The waitress smiled and went to get his order. He set little Gerard down in the baby seat and turned his eye to the door. No sign of the damned Iesian yet. When the waitress returned, he asked for a paper as well. The news was a bit frightening to a man in his line of work. The Department of Justice was considering reopening some of the old Operation Dinah cases, in a more accountable way of course. There was also an editorial supporting a warming of relations with Iesus Christi. Haar couldn’t help snorting at that. Precisely because he worked with these people, he had no illusions about them.

Adriana laughed slightly as she approached the man, “Not that I mind, really. The pace that a lot of guys seem to go in this city is really bizarre. It isn’t how we did things back in Maztlana, at least in the part I’m from.”

Rosie was lying in her bed staring up at her ceiling at that moment. She was breathing heavily and her thoughts had wandered. Things suddenly seemed very unreal. It seemed strange to her that the past had once been real and that this moment would be the past and then it would be forgotten. The future would be the present. Neither the future nor the present currently existed anywhere, however. Her travails might pass but she couldn’t speed them up or rewind them. Holding the infant she had gotten to hold for only a few moments seemed almost unreal. What if they never found him? People had always told Rosie that life went on and she knew it would. The pain would never really go away but day to day life would continue around her and eventually it would absorb her interest again. People always said that as though it was comforting. The thought was, to Rosie, the most horrifying thing she could imagine. Life had no right to go on without her son. She had no right to go on. As quickly as it had come, her moment of abstraction was gone and the pain in her heart that seemed almost beyond endurance was back. She jumped out of bed and started pacing her room. She wanted to be out there, doing something, anything.

Hearing movement, Sarah entered Rosie’s room slowly. The powerful Trolless, twice as tall as her friend, lifted the other woman and hugged her gently, stroking her hair. Rosie started to sob wildly, clutching her blue friend tightly. Sarah was increasingly worried about her. It seemed to her that the chances of finding the infant were getting slimmer by the minute. She couldn’t say that, of course, but she couldn’t bear to get Rosie’s hopes up only to have them dashed either. Sarah thought the Boggan woman needed to start coming to terms with the loss of her son but she had no idea where to begin. No one in her family had ever died. She had no frame of reference for dealing with this kind of loss.

Hannah Cohen was out jogging in a public park near Kobol. She looked like any other jogger, relatively anonymous to most passer by. She was more muscular than most but New Amsterdam was a very diverse city. It took a lot more than a short Jewish woman built like professional bodybuilder to get the average New Amsterdammers interest. She smiled to herself as she brought her bottled water up to her lips. She seemed focused entirely on the soft thud as her feet hit the pavement but her attention was actually tightly held by another matter.

He was late. He couldn’t believe he was running late. Not today of all days.
'Under Associate for co-operation and improved relations' Max Winick rushed into the Kobol and looked around franticly. If his contact had left already…Max felt a chill come over him…he knew that if he stuffed this up his life wouldn’t be worth shit.
Max gave an audible sigh of relief -there in a booth had to be the contact.
He took a moment to regain his composure and then strolled casually over to the booth.
“I believe we talked on the phone.”
He sat down without waiting for an invitation, sitting straight so that the pistol strapped to the small of his back didn’t dig into his flesh.

Gerard watched Adriana closely. He knew that there was a good chance someone could be watching this meeting to determine why Gerard had come to T.R.D…Gerard didn’t put anything past the Iesus Intelligence agencies…only a healthy sense of paranoia kept someone alive in Iesus Christi.
“Well..no..It isn’t like this everywhere..I can tell you that some places are very different” Gerard rested a hand on her arm and spoke with a tinge of humour in his voice “We have sometime before my connection flight…how would you advice we spent the time?”

Haar nodded, "Yeah, we did. I didn't mind babysitting your nephew though. I hope he gets back to his mother alright."

"We could go dancing?" Adriana suggested.

Max Winick grinned "Yeah..she'll be sure happy to have the lill guy back..I'd love to stay and chat but I'm in a hurry...we good?"
Max stood and picked the child up from the baby seat, handling the child like a sack of potatoes.


"dancing...dancing...sorry thats against my religion...." Gerard winked "Only kidding....sounds good. Lay on!"

"Yeah, we're good," Haar said.

Adriana grinned, "Sounds like a plan then." She took Gerard into a neighborhood where most people seemed to speak either French or Spanish and then through a set of double doors that seemed to lead into a club. There was a live jazz band playing and several people dancing on the dance floor. Most of the patrons, however, were either at the bar over in one corner or gathered at tables, eating and drinking. "This is one of my favorite places," Adriana said.

"Glad to hear it. Its been a lark. Catch ya around" Max gave the infant a quick look over to make sure it was in one piece ""Ugly lill bugger aint ya? I should have brought a Pram.."
Then Max craddled the child in arms and headed towards the door.


Jazz band s were a new experience for Gerard and he wasn't quite sure if he liked them or not. He watched the bar for closely for anyone suspicious,
"It seems very...different...I mean..nice...just so you know I don't speak Spanish or French..."

"That's alright," Adriana said. "I speak English and Spanish. I'll translate for you."

After a few moments, a waiter came up and addressed them in Spanish, "Good evening, Senor, Senorita. Just two?"

"Just two," Adriana answered.

The man nodded and led them to a table. Adriana moved around to her side of the table, looking down at the chair and grinning at Gerard shyly, expectantly. The waiter looked between the two of them briefly before saying, "My name is Abel. I'll be your waiter this evening. Do you know what you want to drink?"

"He said his name was Abel and he asked for our drink orders," Adriana informed Gerard.

Gerard nodded, he had no problem with Adriana translating.
"errrr...I guess I'll have double vodka - no ice or anything else. Just as is"
It seemed that Gerard's paranoia had been unfounded...he didn't notice anyone watching him..he sighed in relief and offered a thought for the safety of Rosie. Then Gerard settled in for a pleasant evening...

Max headed out the door and made a direct line for the Iesus Embassy. He'd be able to relax as soon as he handed this little mongrel blood mutt over to someone else..

Adriana again spoke to the man in Spanish before returning her attention to Gerard. She smiled softly at him but she seemed to be waiting for him to speak or otherwise take the initiative. She glanced briefly at the stage, smiling at the music. It was clear she was a fan of this style of music.