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38.
Tonsonby joined Leader Moss, who had invited him to have tea in a high lookout just big enough for a square table, a few chairs, a few leather pieces against the aluminum and glass walls overlooking gorgeous vistas of the city. Orderlies and servants came and went through the flower-lined and long-windowed passageway connecting the sky patio with the main bulk of the administrative headquarters. The tunnel actually connected directly to Leader's spacious offices, where he held court or dallied with young female staffers or whatever a beloved and high-ranking member of the Moss Syndicate did.
Tonsonby had come to despise the Moss Syndicate, but he resolved for the sake of family ties and creature comforts—not to mention the bodily safety of his wife and children—to play the game and continue making Leader happy.
Moss gloated as he stirred his sugared tea. "So, Tonsonby, you have come to redeem yourself."
"If you will permit me the honor," Tonsonby said. He always had a fearful tremor in his knees when he was around Moss.
"Good," Moss said, licking his spoon and setting it down. He sat back and looked out over the city. "Soon, I will launch that MIRV with its many warheads, and knock East Gotha out. Then our troops will swarm across and take the key points, and this entire multi-generation war will be over. A great victory." He raised his glass.
Tonsonby raised his glass, and they clicked glasses in a toast before drinking the steaming liquid. "A great victory, my Leader."
"I am pleased to hear that you have a solid lead on Hedrock's whereabouts."
"I do, Leader, and it's only a matter of time. All my people have been committed to the task. All my resources."
"The fatherland is grateful. You lost him when he drove his truck over the cliff and landed in the houses below, but your technicians were able to triangulate the signal that his organization beamed to kill our MIRV rocket."
"Yes, Leader."
"Excellent. Now, I'm curious. What was the give-away, the clue, the hint, that broke the case for you?"
Tonsonby sipped his tea with some relish. He had done well with this, and could afford a little pridefulness of his own. "They masked their signals well, as we knew they would. However, as you say, there was one tiny detail that they overlooked and this gave them away."
"Yes? Yes?" Moss leaned eagerly forward.
Tonsonby enjoyed telling his story. "Leader, as you know, we watch a lot of people."
"Yes, excellent. Well?"
"So, it happened that when the van went over the cliff, it automatically sent out a repair station alert signal. It's a feature we build into our military vehicles to alert the operator to a tire going flat, let's say, or the need for an oil change. Saves resources. Oddly, though, this signal went to a different sort of place."
"Yes? Yes?"
"We were able to locate the target and found that it was a secret repair depot registered in the name of a blind corporation owned by someone we've had our eye on for a long time. Another scion of an old West Gotha family that lost its properties during the ongoing war, and may emote some feelings of resentment, however unfairly, against our patriotic government."
"Go on."
"This turned out to be a possible enemy agent we identified as Felix. You may recall the dossier."
"I vaguely recall something about a spy network headed by someone codenamed Felix."
"To jog your memory, Leader, Felix is the oldest son of a long-established family that continues to send sons to the military academies and daughters to the nursing corps. Felix has been spending a lot of time circulating around Amy von Tedda and her clan, if you get my drift."
"Oh, clearly," Leader said gleefully. "Well done!"
"So, one thing leading to another, we were able to trace Hedrock's possible movements through the city and we think he is going to appear shortly at a safe house run by Felix and his gang. If he does show up, we might have him in our clutches as early as tonight."
"Wonderful! If you succeed, you can expect to be a brigadier general this year."
"Leader!" Tonsonby felt truly touched, and his resentment evaporated. He thought what the extra money and authority might mean to his family in terms of added rations and privileges.
"It's a trifle," Moss said dismissively. "See how we take care of our own, particularly when they do well. And you, my dear Tonsonby, have done very well indeed. Get me Hedrock on a platter, and I will long be grateful."
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