25: Anger, Review, Trail, Politics, Insight
Lee pounded the desk. Reviewing the files from Brivik security, she couldn’t believe some of the things they let slip. Primarily being slow to realize that the “terrorist” who’d started killing guards was Truder Redmane.
His disguise was flimsy. This was surprising, and she wondered if it was a sign of being careless or being rushed. She suspected the latter.
She also suspected he’d been there to see Ranir. They’d been friends for many years, Ranir had been a political ally, and their families had been close for centuries. She was sure it was Ranir. But he was too big for her to touch. She had to ignore the best lead she had.
Did Truder get what he wanted from Ranir, if that’s who he was there to see? She had no way of knowing. But if he was going to risk capture to see Ranir, it had to be important.
She was sure Truder had money. She was sure he was planning some political strike. If Truder really needed something from someone like Ranir… it probably meant he couldn’t trust anyone on the Board. Without the backing of any Board Members, going up against the Board, he’d need another ally of significant power.
No Board help, in a hurry, in need of leverage to help him politically. He would have to look outside Redmane. Not the Navy, they wouldn’t get involved and anyway there was Ishida, who had more Navy pull than Truder ever would. Another megacorp, perhaps, but Lee had no hope of tracing the many possible connections there.
That left the Governor. Who might well be interested in whatever leverage he could gain over the biggest company in his sector, leverage that a deeply-connected ex-Board Member could provide.
And she could stake out the Governor.
(300 words)