The Far Bank of the Rubicon (The Pax Imperium Wars: Volume 1) by Erik Wecks

shed light on other things which she had taken for granted. Like dropping a pebble which creates an avalanche, a series of mysterious pieces slid into place—the long hours, the driver, and the body guards.
    Working uselessly to cover her back with the gown, Anna felt her world shift once again. The all-too-familiar sense of being left out and excluded crept in, and along with it, the hardened seed of bitterness which eternally plagued her soul made its presence felt.
    Satisfied that she had impressed upon Anna the seriousness of the visit, the doctor left the room. As the door slid closed, she heard her say, “She’s ready for you now, Madame Secretary.”
    Unsure of what to do, Anna patted the blankets flat in front of her as if she were straightening a dress. Then to push back against her nerves, she amused herself by making a fanfare of trumpets in her own head as the secretary entered.
    Secretary Ohlson wasn’t exactly what Anna expected. She wore a highly decorated business suit with an Imperial emblem on the lapel. Jack could have told her the meaning of the patch, but Anna had never paid attention to such matters. Ohlson’s chestnut hair had been meticulously kept free of offending gray, although her face was creased with wrinkles. Anna had a hard time determining her age. She felt younger than she looked, and Anna wondered if it were the job which had aged her.
    The two women sized each other up for a couple of beats.
    Secretary Ohlson asked, “May I sit down?” as she pulled up a chair next to Anna’s bed.
    “Of course.”
    “How are you doing?” The smile looked warm—motherly. Only Ohlson’s eyes seemed to be withheld. Anna had the impression the Secretary was still trying to figure her out.
    “Grateful to be feeling at all, I guess. I haven’t really had time to think about it.”
    The Secretary nodded.
    “Your fiancée is quite a good man.”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Jack is a good man.”
    Anna didn’t know what to say in response. There was too much to say all at once. Anna decided to start with her shock. “You know Jack?”
    The Secretary furrowed her brow and looked at Anna sideways. “Of course I know him. He’s my special adviser on the Unity.”
    “Really? Doesn’t he work for the Ministry of Information?”
    The Secretary smiled kindly, understanding Anna’s confusion. “Well, technically, yes, but he’s my special adviser, so he comes to my office each day.”
    Both women dropped into silent surprise for a moment. The Secretary was the first to pick it back up. “He hasn’t told you any of this?”
    Chagrined, Anna shook her head. Then she chided herself internally for her embarrassment. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She sat up a little straighter.
    “You have a lot to be proud of, Ms. Prindle. You’re marrying a fine man.”
    “I said ‘no’. I’m not going to marry Jack.” Anna was surprised at how easily the words rolled out.
    Now it was the Secretary’s turn to look a little embarrassed. “I see,” she said. “Do you mind telling me why?”
    As kind as the Secretary seemed, Anna wasn’t ready to discuss the gnawing wound inside her. “I have my reasons.”
    The Secretary looked at her for a minute, as if trying to read her thoughts. “Fair enough.”
    “You know,” she said, “the attack on your vehicle was tantamount to a direct act of war on the Empress. It was well planned, an automated drone attack from a new building under construction along your route. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to put it all together and trace it back to the Unity. It’s even worse that we can’t really acknowledge that we had hired Jack in the first place, since the official policy is that we don’t take in political refugees from any member of the Pax. That kind of operation had to come from well up the food chain in the Unity—CEO Randall must have approved it.”
    Feeling her heart begin to flutter, Anna forced herself to let go of the blanket and breathe