Chapter 13

"We are The Personalia. We are contacting the mothers of Malan children. You gave birth to one about five years ago. We are offering to bring you to meet your child, in Rehome colony. The child would be interested to meet you."

"Malan?"

"Yes. The alien child you carried and birthed, but never saw."

"How do you know about that? I never knew anything about my child."

"We have access to much information; more than you might expect. There are records naming you as one of the mothers. You were probably paid a large sum of money as a payoff for your surrogate service."

"That is correct. O.K., I believe you. Now what?"

"We can offer you free transport to Rehome colony to meet your child. We shall require a DNA sample, either blood or saliva will do, to identify which child is yours. One has already been identified in this manner, and another is on Rehome waiting for the test to be performed. We presume you would wish to meet your child: all four are quite delightful children."

"What do I get in return for my cooperation?"

"Madam, we do not think in such terms. Our only interest is in re-uniting mothers with their children. We consider that a responsible end in itself. Do you seek more money? That can be provided if you are short of cash by now, but we did not expect you to be a spendthrift."

"Nooo, I don't need money, but I enjoy the excitement of my career as an undercover agent. Can you offer something similar?"

"We ourselves are not in a position to offer employment. Being spaceship Persons, we have no inherent requirement for human crew. The Rehome Colony does have a security service, though it has no army as such. That organisation is led by a former US Special Forces officer, so she may be able to offer interesting employment."

"If I choose not to remain there, can I return here?"

"There is no requirement for you to remain on Rehome. We simply assumed you would wish to remain with your child. When the story about the human mothers of the Malan children comes out, your undercover employment on Earth may not be tenable, assuming you are not whisked off to a cell somewhere by the authorities, to keep you incommunicado."

"Eh? Are you seriously claiming they would do that to me; to a serving soldier?"

"Yes, based on past experience with human authorities. Their priority appears to be what is best for the organisation and its top hierarchy. Humans at a lower level appear to be regarded as expendable, to keep the truth from emerging. You come into that category, Ruth. You may also find your cash payoff being rescinded."

"I am not happy at all this, but I can see your logic. How about I use some of my accrued vacation time, and come visit the child; and we can take it from there?"

"That is acceptable. We only need to agree on a location for collecting you, preferably at a water site – a river or lake would be adequate. You can take only what you can carry in the way of luggage. Phone this number as and when you are prepared to leave."

Esme Limbada said a final farewell to Timmy, Joe and Jimmy, telling them that she did not know when she would be back, but she trusted them to do their best for Judith, as Judith would be looking after the business in Esme's absence.

The most emotion came from Jimmy, who came over to give her a hug. "Look after yourself, boss. You have been good to us, hasn't she, Joe?"

Joe's response was "She has that, Jimmy. Best employer we have ever had!"

Jimmy appeared puzzled, as he counted off the number of employers on his fingers, coming up with a total of two. He shrugged his shoulders, with no understanding of what Joe meant, and decided to leave things alone.

Esme had already said her goodbyes to Judith, and now donned her outdoor coat, grabbed her suitcase and sling handbag, and left without any backward looks. It would have hurt her to do so.

At the front door, her teenage parking driver was waiting with the car. She told him to get back at the wheel, and drive her round the corner and a couple of blocks further on.

He did so, while she watched his driving. She nodded to herself: she was satisfied.

"Jeremy, you have a special task tonight, and it may take you a few hours of driving. Are you up for that?"

"I sure am, Miz Limbada. My folks know they can rely on me, and won't worry if I am late home."

"Fine. I want you to drive me up Route 300 and across to Lake Blackshear, to a spot I designate. You will drop me there, turn the car, and go directly home again, without any questions, and put the car away until Miz Cavallo has need of it. You do for her what you did for me, right?"

"Anything you say, Miz Limbada. You know I am reliable. I will do exactly what you say. Can't you tell me anything?"

"Only that someone will be along to pick me up, so there is no need to concern yourself about me, Jeremy. I will be away for quite a while, so I expect you to study hard and pass all your exams. You are going to be a good businessman, eventually. I want to be proud of you, young man."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Right. State Route 300. I presume you have the road map in the car?"

"In the door pocket, ma'am. I have studied it hard, so I know all the routes around Georgia, even if I haven't driven them."

"Excellent. Before we leave, take this cash – a hundred dollars." She stuffed it into he shirt pocket. "Use it for fuel for this car, and get to know all the roads better when the car is not required by Miz Cavallo. I want you to be familiar with all of the routes by the time I get back."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. I'll put the money in my sock, out of sight of anyone. Do you have to be at your designated spot by a specific time, ma'am?"

"No, Jeremy. I shall phone for my pickup when I get closer, so I do not want you driving recklessly. Be a good driver tonight, to show me your competence, Jeremy."

"Will do, ma'am."

He settled back round at the wheel, and checked around carefully before leaving the kerb. He drove steadily, but not fast, as he got used to doing a lot more than taking the car to or from its lockup. Within fifteen minutes, he had confidence at last, and as he moved onto Route 300, he speeded up, being careful to keep below the speed limit.

Esme took the opportunity to have a nap while they sped up the road, and it seemed little time before Jeremy was asking where he should turn off. She gave him explicit directions to the lakeside road, and then rang the number she had in her phone. She reported.

"I am leaving state route 300, headed for the lakeside road. I will phone again when we get near."

"We? Explain."

"My driver will drop me off, and take the car back to Albany."

"Acceptable. Thank you. Allow about ten or fifteen minutes for us to get to you at the shore."

Finally, she found a spot where the road ran along the shore, unobstructed by trees. She told Jeremy to stop and wait, while she took her torch to the water's edge. She shone it in, and found that the lake bottom was shallow at this point. Satisfactory. She returned to the car.

"Right, Jeremy, this spot is suitable for me to be collected. You can go home now."

"Yes, ma'am. Have a nice trip, ma'am. See you soon."

"Thanks for everything, Jeremy. Farewell."

He watched her open her phone and dial, then he found a suitable spot, turned the car and left her, satisfied he had done everything he could. He now retraced his way back the miles of rural roads to route 300 and home.

Esme made her call, and simply left her phone on. She laid her suitcase down flat on the dry grass at the side of the road, and used it as a cushion. She admired the intermittently moonlit lake in front of her. There was no wind to speak of, and the moonlight was reflected from the surface whenever there was a break in the cloud.

The developing night was quiet, except for the noise of a band playing in the distance, further up the lake on her side. It was an indistinct sound, so that she assumed the band was inside a building, with a window or two open for ventilation.

A car came along the road, heading for the distant music. She was certainly lit up by the headlights, but would have been just an unclear figure sitting up. As usual, the driver did not stop to ask if she needed help, in case it was a set-up for a robbery. It sped off into the night and was soon obscured by roadside trees at the next bend.

She was starting to wonder where her lift had got to, when a black shadow loomed out the night, fractionally lit by the occasional moonlight above. It was immense!

The huge vessel glided to the shore, where she now stood up holding her phone in one hand, her suitcase in the other. As she gaped at the massive ship, a hatch opened in the side, a dozen feet above her, and a woman stood in the doorway.

"Esme?" she called down.

Esme used her torch to illuminate herself, saying "Here. How do I get up there?"

"There are rungs, but here's a rope to tie on to your suitcase handle." A rope of some kind snaked down to the ground, and Esme noted that the machine had come off the water a fraction, so she could step from the ground onto a rung. Now that she was close enough to tie on her suitcase, she could see the rungs, each lit gently from behind. Once her suitcase vanished above, she climbed the rungs, and was pleased that they were dry and easily grasped. In a minute of climbing she was at the hatch, and was pleased to find another rung inside, giving her a handhold to pull herself in. The woman then gave her a hand to stand up.

"Hi. I am Diane, Head of Security for Rehome Colony. Welcome to a Landership, whose name I did not ask about."

"I call myself John Hopkins University, as I admire their research ethos." Said a male voice from nowhere.

"Ah, right. Thank you John. I apologise for my bad manners."

"No bother. Who is the lady, Diane?"

"This is Esme Limbada, one of the mothers of Malan children, so be nice to her, John."

"Sure will, Diane. Welcome aboard, Esme Limbada. Is it Miss, Mrs or Miz?"

Esme was shocked. I am being asked by a spacecraft about the correct form of address? Getting over the shock, she replied, "Miss Limbada, John, but you may call me Esme."

"Thank you, Esme. I will do that. Are we set to leave, Diane?"

"Just give us a moment to get seated, John, then we can be off." She gestured to Esme to follow her through to another room or cabin, where several seats were fixed to the floor. "Have a seat and put your seatbelt on, Esme. It is a standard car seatbelt, and probably unnecessary, right, John?"

"That is it, Diane, but we prepare for possible evasive action, if we get spotted. We interfere with radar signal reception, so we should be invisible, but that might lead to a commercial aircraft getting in our way. THAT is the real reason for the seatbelt."