Free Red Angel by C. R. Daems Page B

never spent any money while I was
in service, have a retirement, and get a good salary as a magistrate. And you
working will help. Nevertheless, I can't think of a better way to spend my
money than on you. You never ask for anything. Consider this your graduation
gift." She gave me a tight hug.
    I didn't know
what to say and couldn't with the lump in my throat. I vowed to learn the cost
of running the house, skimmer, and everything else — and
to help now that I was earning a salary. A good start would be learning how
much I'd earn. I couldn't help laughing.
    "You
have a clueless daughter. I promise to get smarter."
    "All
right. Which one?" she asked, smiling. We spent the next hour going over
each one: design, functions, and I insisted—cost. Late that night we
reached a compromise: a middle of the price range, four-seat Air Stream sports
model with all the latest navigation and communications devices and a few nice-to-have
features like especially comfortable seats.
    The next day
we signed the paperwork, and the salesman promised to have it delivered to the
training school where we arranged for lessons for Alexa and me. I had insisted
she learn to fly it too, as it was our skimmer. She agreed and would only need
familiarization training, as she knew how to fly one, although it had been a
long time. I didn't have a clue, although I knew the theory on how to fly a
cruiser.
    *
* *
    "That's
a nice skimmer, Miss Paulus," he said after walking around it and
explaining all the things I should look for on a visual inspection. I knew I'd
remember, as Red's head was on my shoulder the entire time—watching.
Timothy was nervous for the first twenty minutes but relaxed as the time went
by and Red didn't show signs of wanting to attack him or even move, and I
assured him it was harmless. I thought the lie easier than the truth, since the
end result was the same—except for the time to explain the truth.
    "Magistrate
Bellona says you graduated from the Naval Academy, so mostly you need driver
lessons, but let me briefly go over the gauges." He spent some time
pointing out each gauge and the signs that would indicate trouble of some kind
or another. "All right Miss Paulus—"
    "Anna,
please."
    "All
right Anna, I'm going to take us for a ride, so you and your friend watch
carefully because next time it's your turn." He smiled and started the
engine. Three hours later, I couldn't wait until the next day.
    "Mother,
it's ... magical." I didn't have the words to describe the feeling I had.
    "Yes, it
is. I miss the feel of a cruiser under my feet ... at my command." Her
gaze was into the past, and she radiated a strong sense of loss. I hugged her, wanting
to make it go away, and slowly it did. "I've had a good life and much to
be thankful for," she said, returning the hug.
    I had ten
days of lessons. Then Alexa decided we needed a vacation, which turned out to
be a tour of Oxax with me having to determine the route and fly us there.
Except for in the skimmer and in our room, Red stayed out of sight, which was a
good thing. No sense advertising I had a red-headed krait. And for three days
before I was scheduled to start work, Alexa accompanied me flying to and from my
workplace. By the day I was to report to work, I was nervous but confident I
could manage on my own.
    *
* *
    When I
arrived at the naval headquarters' building, they gave me a visitor’s pass and
directions to the Naval Intelligence Agency, NIA. There, a navy petty officer
led me to Stauffer's office, where three others waited.
    "Welcome,
Anna, I've assembled the team you are going to be working with. The team is new
and tasked with finding and stopping a major smuggling ring we think is
operating out of the Free Peoples Union, FPU, which has some twenty plus
planets and two billion citizens. Mostly the smugglers deal in drugs or other illegal
items ... like Red," he said, and all eyes turned toward me. I assumed it
was my cue, and I reached inside my blouse, pulled out Red,