Book 24 - An Imperfect Utopia, page 35
“What’s done is done, which doesn’t make me any less furious. Pakhaüser has given the Europeans an incentive to accelerate their attack. We would have had months, and it might have been enough.”
“Brewster still isn’t ready?” Helen asked.
“No. He says he just needs another two weeks.”
“Which he’s been saying ever since the general lost the battle for Longview. When was that?”
“Four months ago,” Tippy said. “And it wasn’t a battle. Some test subjects escaped and blew up the munitions depot. That’s not a battle. If any military terminology is applicable, it’s defeat. The skirmishes ever since haven’t helped. There’s only a handful of the rebels, hiding out in the woods. Denning is supposed to have an army.”
Helen laid a calming hand on Tippy’s arm. “What’s done is done. Brewster will never be ready, so another two weeks or two months make no difference. No?”
“I… I suppose not,” Tippy said.
“How long do we have before they get here?”
“Ten days if they set off now, and get lucky with the route, but it will take at least a week for the order to reach their French colonel, and probably a few days to plan. Three weeks.”
“Could our spy extend it through sabotage?” Helen asked.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? That was another piece of glorious news. He was caught. Of course he was caught. He was able to bluff his way out of trouble, but they took him to Fort St John. He’s got work in a farm.”
“Tell him to stay put and keep his head down. We might need him later.”
“Well, he’s no use to us now,” Tippy said.
“He might hear when the colonel and his soldiers have departed, probably after the event, but it will still be useful information. Three weeks. It is more time than Brewster requested.”
“Yes, but it won’t be enough,” Tippy said. “No, you’re right. He’s been promising more than he’s able to deliver for months. He’ll never finish. Not in time.”
“So three weeks or twelve or one, it doesn’t matter?”
Grudgingly, Tippy nodded. “No.”
“And everything is ready, yes? I saw they were painting the name.”
“Painting it wrong.”
“I like it,” Helen said. “It’s mysterious, like you. The Europeans will deal with Pakhaüser, yes?”
“Oh, they will want their revenge.”
“Good, then at worst, their forces are divided. What about Brewster, do they know of him?”
“Only if Pakhaüser told them,” Tippy said.
“Then maybe we need to tell them. They’ll want to destroy him, too, yes? They’d feel obligated to.”
“Bill would, yes,” Tippy said.
“And we have a spy in Fort St John who can tell them if necessary. I can arrange that.”
“Are you sure? I didn’t think you wanted to be involved in this side of the business.”
“I hate it, but it’s the path we chose. We truly are in this together. In it until the death, ours or the planet’s.”
Tippy nodded, leaned back, and watched Grace work. She was directing the bodyguard now, supervising, assessing, and advising. She already had the makings of a great queen. Queen Grace I. The only question was queen of where.
To be continued…
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Surviving The Evacuation / Here We Stand / Life Goes On
The outbreak began in New York. Within days, it had spread throughout the world. Nowhere is safe from the living dead. Books 1-3 are the journals of Bill Wright, a political operative trapped in London after the city is evacuated. Books 4-7 follow Nilda, a mother searching the wasteland for her son, and Chester, a criminal in search of repentance. Books 8-16 chart the search for survivors across the European continent. Books 17 onward recount how humanity’s last survivors build a new society out of the ashes of the old world, and battle those who would see it destroyed.
Here We Stand is the story of Tom Clemens, Jonas Jeffries, Martha Greene, and the other North American survivors, and the collapse of the United States. The struggles of the survivors in the Pacific are told in Life Goes On, beginning with Outback Outbreak.
1: London, 2: Wasteland, Zombies vs The Living Dead, 3: Family, 4: Unsafe Haven, 5: Reunion, 6: Harvest, 7: Home, Here We Stand 1: Infected, Here We Stand 2: Divided, Book 8: Anglesey, 9: Ireland, 10: The Last Candidate, 11: Search and Rescue, 12: Britain’s End, 13: Future’s Beginning, 14: Mort Vivant, 15: Where There’s Hope, 16: Unwanted Visitors, Unwelcome Guests,
Life Goes On 1: Outback Outbreak, 2: No More News, 3: While the Lights Are On, 4: If Not Us, 5: No Turning Back
Surviving the Evacuation 17: There We Stood, 18: Rebuilt in a Day, 19: Welcome to the End of the Earth, 20: Small Cogs in the Survival Machine, 21: Our Home, Too, 22: Letters From Yesterday, 23: One Minute More, 24: An Imperfect Utopia
Strike a Match - A Post-Apocalyptic Detective Series
In 2019, the AIs went to war. Millions died before a nuclear holocaust brought an end to their brief reign of terror. Billions more succumbed to radiation poisoning, disease, and the chaotic violence of that apocalypse. Some survived. They rebuilt.
Twenty years later, civilisation is a dim shadow of its former self. Crime is on the rise, aided by a shadowy conspiracy. It is down to Detectives Mitchell, Riley, and Deering of the Serious Crimes Unit to unmask the conspirators and save their fragile democracy.
1: Serious Crimes, 2: Counterfeit Conspiracy, 3: Endangered Nation, 4: Over by Christmas, 5: Thin Ice
Work Rest Repeat
Sixty years after The Great War, the last survivors of humanity have taken shelter in giant towers. The colony ships that will allow them to leave the diseased Earth are nearing completion when two murders are discovered. For our species to survive, the criminals must be caught, and the launch must go ahead.
Brawl of the Worlds 1: First Contact, 2: Wish You Were Here
If first contact took place today, how would you react? How would the world?
Unofficial first contact was in 1888. Since then, the existence of extra-terrestrial life has been kept secret from those on Earth. Nothing remains secret forever. By 2022, preparations for official first contact are well underway, but there are hostile forces wanting to make our star system the next proxy-battleground in an intergalactic cold war. As booksellers rise, and empires fall, the hidden history of the galaxy will be revealed…
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Frank, Book 24 - An Imperfect Utopia
