Hello, February. An
extra day in the month probably won't make much difference, right? Eh, January
already felt like an entire year, so here's hoping February doesn't.
Another slow week
for television viewing, but not a bad one. I finished up season three of Riverdale and, whew, what an ending.
Talk about jamming a crap-ton of stuff into forty-three minutes. That said,
wow. I'm still processing all the crazypants. I'm very glad I can start season
four this week. I'll be dreading the first episode but can't wait to see what
happens from here. Hopefully something utterly horrible for Hiram is on the
horizon but I doubt it. Sigh.
Midsomer Murders had a good opener for series twenty-one.
One down and three to go. Then I have to find another show to start. I have a
few on my list to check out.
Caught another
episode of Peak Practice. I went back
to the first season again. I'll watch another of the final season this week.
Watched another
full arc of Classic Who and have one
more set before starting the last season with Three. Looking forward to Sarah
Jane episodes.
That's pretty much
it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Covert Heart, a novella that got a start with a writing community
prompt.
Here's the
mini-blurb:
An impossible task. A
couple sworn to carry it out or die trying. One big test of the depth of their
courage and love.
And a sneaky peek…
"I'll have more
coffee." The Saskitet delegate nodded toward the mug on the desk and
resumed her heated vid conversation.
Rick McBride lifted the carafe
and filled the cup to just below the brim. Six weeks undercover taught him the
exact preferred spot. Going too low or high resulted in a verbal tongue lashing
that could be heard in the adjoining suites. Minister Marlena Hix didn't fear a
"difficult" label.
In fact, she welcomed it. No one
went against her wishes. The more who knew that fact the easier things went.
Ruffling feathers had become her
trademark. It also made Rick's presence necessary. He assumed the role of her
domestic aide to keep a close watch on her activities.
Minister Hix had declared war on
secrets and stealth. Her goal to expose the nasty stuff agencies did to help
maintain democracy and make it available for public scrutiny had the planetary
governments in an uproar. She liked to shine a spotlight on any and all who
tried to fly under the radar and work behind the lines and those participating
didn't appreciate it.
The Condorian regime kept peace
along their borders by supplying the Ramarians with minerals they refined to
make fuel. The problem? The Condorian public voted against it.
Hix exposed the deal. And the
Condorian senate scrambled to provide answers to their populace.
She didn't stop there. Other back
room alliances had been outed. Under-the-table handshakes that kept several
treaties intact, made public. Covert operations cracked and crumbled in each
sector of the solar system.
If left unchecked, Hix would
unravel the entire political system.
Rick silently backed away after
refilling the minister's cup. He took his place by the entrance of the suite,
standing vigil until Hix's assistant minister returned from his morning rounds.
She had the man skulk around the
central hub every morning to catch any and all pertinent information regarding
new alliances, agreements, or favor swapping. Rick had to admit the brilliance
of the strategy. He actually admired her willingness to stand for the truth.
But he also realized her underhanded tactics put her right on the level of any
other delegate. Maybe lower, because Minister Hix masterfully turned facts to
her own end and didn't care who got hurt in the process.
Bringing down the current democracy
and putting an autocratic ruler in place served her ambitions. Especially since
she'd deemed herself worthy of the job.
Hix waved him over to her side
when she finished her vid conference. "Has Martin checked in yet?"
She lifted the mug to her lips and took a large gulp.
Rick answered quickly. "No,
Minister." The door slid open and Rick stepped back. "Ah, here he is,
ma'am." He waited for Martin Helms to seat himself across from Hix.
"Will there be anything else, ma'am?"
Hix nodded toward the assistant
minister. "Get Martin some coffee then leave." She shot a venom-filled
look at Helms. "Return back with lunch at 1300." She leveled her
sharp gaze on Rick. "That's one PM. I keep forgetting you staff people
don't speak military." She swung her eyes back to the assistant minister.
"And make sure you're not one moment late. Or I'll have your position
filled with someone more capable." Her words, meant for Helms, made the
man twitch a bit.
Rick ignored the interplay,
poured the coffee, and laid out two sugars, Martin's preferred choice.
"Lunch. One PM." He tucked the carafe under his arm. "Yes,
ma'am." He moved away from the desk and busied himself with clean-up,
quietly stacking breakfast dishes on the cart. He excelled at this part of his
job, using efficient movements to maintain his cover and gather intel. Minister
Hix already forgot about him and demanded a report from Helms.
Helms briefly slid his gaze in
Rick's direction, but didn't keep Hix waiting. "The Calderans have opened
negotiations with the Velamites to do a guns-for-grain deal."
Hix hissed out a satisfied
breath. "That's wonderful news. I needed something on the Velamites."
She lowered her voice. "The populace voted against exporting. They want
their crops to stay local." Marlena scribbled something on her notepad and
handed it to Martin. "Contact this list and plant the seeds."
Martin tore the page from the
tablet and tucked it inside his pocket.
Hix pushed him for more.
"What else can you report?"
Rick couldn't stick around to
hear the rest. He'd finished the clean-up and needed to leave. Pushing the cart
toward the door, neither Helms nor Hix spared him a glance. He exited the suite
and waited until he got on the elevator to activate his comm link.
"McBride for the chancellor.
Message follows. Priority debrief in thirty. Location E." He switched off
just in time for the doors to swish open and admit two low-level aides.
Rick smiled a greeting, but
didn't engage either in conversation. Staff didn't speak unless spoken to, and
his fellow passengers had a running dialog already in play. Interestingly
enough, their topic happened to be Hix and the firestorm that always seemed to
follow in her wake.
A tall, slim blond with chiseled
cheekbones and a neatly trimmed goatee spoke in low tones. "Rumor has it
Minister Hix has something big planned for the summit." He keyed in his
destination.
The other aide, a voluptuous
redhead with striking green eyes, nodded. "I've heard the same. Rumblings
are rolling through the administrative branch. The holy terror plans to bring
more truthful mayhem to the proceedings."
The two rolled their eyes and
fell silent. A moment later, the elevator chimed and each exited, after
ignoring Rick for the entire ride.
With more intel to share, his
debrief couldn't come soon enough. And his bonus would be seeing Emma, after a
long, dry spell.
I've had a lot of
fun writing this one. All the pieces are in place but I need to get them all in
order. The sages decided to feed me the story in little chunks and didn't stick
to a linear timeline.
That's it for this
week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
