Dangerous Secrets

Chapter 7

The opinions expressed in this chapter - both sides - do not necessarily reflect my own personal opinions.

Alan and Gordon were lounging in the pool, having nothing else to do. Kerry was sitting in a deck chair nearby as she had a fear of water. Kerry was rereading a novel by an Australian author about two teenagers who assist a detective and end up saving the world in each adventure. She was trying to reread the third novel, but her mind kept straying to a conversation she had had with her mother a few days before the plane accident.

"Kerry," her mother, Diana, said while they were eating their dinner. "If there ever came a time in the near future where you were...I was no longer around..."

"Mom, I am fifteen. Just spell it out," Kerry smiled.

Diana smiled ruefully. "Sorry, dear. If I suddenly died, I don't want you to go to the Global Orphanage in London," Diana stated. Kerry raised her eyebrows in surprise as well as asking what on earth her mother was talking 'bout. She had been talking a lot to Kerry lately about her sudden hatred for the GDF and the government, which Kerry was extremely uncomfortable with listening to. What's gotten into her? Kerry kept wondering.

"But, Mom, it's the law for that to happen. I can't break the law," Kerry argued.

Diana nodded. "But, I want you to instead contact Scott Tracy, your father's friend. See if he'll take you in. If he won't, then you'll," and she let out a sigh, "you'll have to go to the Orphanage. But, and I can't stress this enough, but try. Please try to find Scott."

Kerry stared at her dinner for a moment, then pushed the plate away, looking her mother in the eye. "Just what on earth are you talking about? What's gotten into you lately? If you're worried about suddenly dying, then you better stop talking this...this shit. It's freaky. You've heard the reports about how great the Orphanage is. Why-"

"I'm not worried about dying," Diana interrupted. "Please," Diana pleaded, her voice trembling, her eyes beginning to glisten with tears.

"I'm not going to be a party to your opinions, Mom!" Kerry shouted, standing up, her chair pushed back with a screeech. "Just...just stop this! Stop all of this! Please." Diana stared at her sadly and Kerry turned around with a huff and began heading for her bedroom.

"You're right," Diana suddenly called to her. Kerry stopped and turned around to face Diana. "You're right. I'll stop. Very soon. But promise me," and Diana leaned forward, passion and urgency shining from her face, from all of her body in fact. "Promise me that you'll go to Scott Tracy."

Kerry rolled her eyes. "Look, I won't need," she snapped, "to if you'd just-"

"Promise me," she stressed.

Kerry looked into her mother's eyes and realised that the only way to shut her up would be to promise. "I promise," she said in a quiet voice.

Kerry let out a sigh as she picked up the book and resolved to keep reading. She felt bad - she always did exactly as she had promised to her mother, but this time she had had no intentions of doing that. She couldn't do break the law just to satisfy her mother's sectarian beliefs. But, after her mother died just a few days after that conversation, Kerry had found herself on Tracy Island with Scott Tracy, unwittingly doing just what her mother wanted.

And it looks like I'm gonna' be staying here for the foreseeable future, Kerry silently noted. Why had Mom talked like that? It, after all, got her killed.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward of the Creighton-Ward Estate is here to see you, Your Majesty," the butler said, bowing in obeisance. Queen Bridgette IV was in the garden, seated around one of the tables, going through a stack of papers. She was in need of a quick break and her ears perked up at the mention of her old BFF coming. Perfect! she inwardly whooped. But, she managed to keep her excitement from showing.

"Bring her out, Jasper. Oh, and have the cook bring out tea, cake and scones," Bridgette ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty." And Jasper turned and went to carry out her orders. While waiting, Bridgette leaned back in her chair and for a moment forgot royal protocol and put her feet up on another nearby chair for a brief, but much needed, rest. She almost regretted being the heir to the throne as there was so much expected her - such as regaining the shattered trust of the people, and all that Monarchs-Can't-Do-This b*llsh*t. But gluing the people's trust back together was necessary to do and Bridgette was glad to attempt to make that happen.

Soon, she saw Jasper and Lady Penelope coming up the garden path and quickly regained her composure. Thankfully, none of them seemed to have noticed. Bridgette smiled at Penelope as the latter seated herself after curtsying in greeting. Jasper departed to carry out the remainder of Bridgette's order and the two women grinned at each other. "How have you been now that you're Queen of England?" Lady Penelope enquired.

Bridgette sighed. "It's a tedious job. I envy you, Penny, I'll be honest with you. I'm currently having a stressful time with the World Parliament," she confided. Penelope was rather interested, so asked Bridgette to continue. She did. "William of Orange and his wife, Mary, had to accept Parliament as joint monarchs, unable to have the same power as their predecessors, giving Parliament power over them. It has continued since then. And now that all the Parliaments all over the world have merged into one..." she sighed. "I wonder why they keep the monarchy in place? They're ruling. And, I'm not giving them a easy time about it." And she gave Penelope a sly smile. "But Kim Un, North Korea's leader, has been giving me an especially hard time," she sighed.

Penelope then remembered that Kim Un was on the USB along with Queen Bridgette. Interesting. "Oh, really?" she prodded.

THUNDERBIRD 5

Up in space, John was going over the photos. Jeff had called in after all the others had left the lounge and told him the Japanese woman in the photograph was Colonel Akane. John had put Scar Face and Tattoo Face, as he dubbed them, in the facial recognition software. Nothing came up whatsoever. Weird, he had thought. He had tried all the tricks in the book to find out something, but nothing came up. Right now, he was reading about Colonel Akane. It was a perfect, flawless report. She was the fourth child of a member of the World Council and had decided at twelve it was her job to help defend the world by becoming a member of the Global Defense Force. Akane achieved that dream at the age of nineteen and was a highly-esteemed member, quickly rising to second-in-command at the age of twenty-four.

That can't be right, John realized. A person can't become second-in-command unless he or she is thirty-five or over. Something's not right there. He read further and noted that her father was the famous Martin Bond, an American, who was in the World Council. Bond had married a Japanese lady and ended up moving to Japan, where Akane was born and raised. John noted that Martin Bond bore an uncanny resemblance to Colonel Martin Janus, who had been arrested by Colonel Casey last year. Janus, though, had reportedly escaped and John began to wonder if he was this Bond.

He decided that he should call his father.