Star Law: A Marshal Cole Series

Chapter 28 (c)

Sofia Strasser in her professional capacity as a lawyer was always organized. As a spy, she used her organizational skills to set up shell and dummy corporations under various names based in a variety of locations throughout the Commonwealth. She was not a master of disguises like Goroshenko but she knew how to make the paperwork work. She had done several for herself and partner Anna Nguyen unbeknownst to Gaulle.

In an exchange with Goroshenko, she had given him paperwork for various false identities and he had come up with a number of disguises for her and Anna. It was under a false name that Goroshenko had joined a Korantha nreligious order. The exchange required some trust but it also had a mutually assured destruction if they turned on each other.

Strasser had cooked up two IDs. It listed herself and Nguyen as narcotics agents working undercover for Commonwealth Drug Enforcement (CDE). She had worked up several plausible storylines depending on the need. The badges were authentic and would stand up to a fair amount of scrutiny. The hope was it would be enough to distract and render an escape. Surprisingly, it was Nguyen who was able to brilliantly act a part that Strasser had created. Despite her young age, she was able to sell a role.

Since Goroshenko had departed, he had kept them informed about what was happening out there. The two women had stuck to the cabin. It hadn't been a hardship before but now the fear of the unknown outside made them both jumpy, Nguyen in particular. The next check in with Gaulle was soon. Since the death of Singh, they had used a ship message board and sent anonymous coded briefings. So far the news was not much was happening.

As per the discussion earlier with Goroshenko, Strasser and Nguyen were of a mind to change things. Increasingly, it was hard not to think they were on the wrong side of things. The fear that their psi powers could put them into conflict with those that did not compelled them to stay secret. It is why they fled earth. They'd been told that security had been compromised and that they were moving off planet for everyone's safety.

Being trapped on the ship now was a nightmare, Strasser thought to herself. They were trapped between law enforcement, Gaulle and a young girl who were in conflict. Before he left, Goroshenko suggested a course of action. He said he was going to try and reach out to Orion Ruskovich. This scared her as many people had died already and the girl was linked to it all.

Goroshenko had some idea how to reach her but like a lot of his plans, it was ill defined, off the cuff and by the seat of his pants. At least he could apport to safety if things got hairy. Strasser checked the message boards one last time to see if there was an update from him.

What she read stunned her.

Goroshenko's message read: "Don't have to look for Orion Ruskovich. She has reached out to me. Meeting possible soon."