“What do you mean he’s dead?” Trisha lowered her head, shaking it slowly. She sat on her couch, an earbud in her left ear. She listened to the excuses from the agent she’d been guiding. Meanwhile, Cassie was practicing gymnastics again.

“You know you were to take him alive. No, I don’t care how it happened. The fact is you’re now in a shuttle with a corpse and that does us exactly zero good. Yes, this will be going into my report.” She sighed, rubbing her eyes, and regretting beginning this new career for the thousandth time.

“Okay, look, pilot the shuttle to some coordinates I’m going to forward to you. Do not waste time. You will meet a man, and he will handle this. You will be polite. You will be grateful. You will be helpful. That means do whatever he tells you to do.”
As she listened to more excuses she took a long last sip of her milkshake through the straw. “This is why you need to practice proper trigger safety. Who trained you? Oh, well that explains it.” The trainer in question was not only sloppy but was a complete moron in her humble opinion.

Kieran walked through the room and she motioned him over with a smile before handing him her empty mug and mouthing a ‘thank you’ as he took it into the kitchen.

“I don’t even know where to being with how bad this is. Did you at least get the data file so we can recoup something in this?” The answer caused her to lay her head back against the couch and close her eyes. “You didn’t think it was important. No, of course, you didn’t think you’d accidentally shoot him in the face.”

“Okay, I’ve sent the coordinates. Like I said, you do exactly what he says and if you put one step out of place, so help me God….” Her warning must have struck home. “Try not to screw up anything else.”

She disconnected the feed and took the earbud out with a sigh as Kieran plopped down on the couch. “That sounded bad.”

“I’m beginning to learn that this job is a lot worse than my old one because I was competent and the people, I’m supposed to help have no idea what they’re doing.”

“Well, if it helps, I’m glad you’re home and safe, even if they’re messing up.”

She grinned. “I am too. It’s frustrating, but that line of work is a young person’s game.”

“Oh come on, you’re only fifty.”

She gave her son a dry expression. “I’ll ground you until you’re fifty if you keep that up.”

He grinned before looking to her stomach. “How long again?”

“Not soon enough, but it won’t be too much longer. Doctor says that she’s healthy as a horse but she’s taking her time.”

“When Dad gets back from their trip, he said he wants to finish the nursery.”

“I know. He made me promise before he left with your grandfather that I’d leave it alone.”

“You think I’ll get to go hunting with them someday?”
“Sure. I would bet on it.”

He grinned again. “I’m going to go finish my homework. Do you need anything?”

Now it was her turn to grin. He was so much like his father. “No, I’m okay.”

He hopped off the couch and vanished into his room. She got comfortable and put the call out of her mind. As she closed her eyes, she thought of her husband and hoped he was having fun.

Wherever he was.