Mitchell's Revenge
Stern apartment, Covington, on EQ2

Sibil Stern clicked off her coms unit with a shaking hand. She collapsed backwards onto a low sofa in the living room of the apartment that she shared with her husband and daughter and contemplated what to do next. Tears squeezed their way from the corners of her eyes. She stared out the window at the city of Covington sprawled beneath their eighth floor abode.

“We’ve got your daughter,” the voice had said. “Stay near your coms. We will call with further instructions in forty five minutes.” That was all. No identification, no ransom demand, only a heavily accented male voice.

Sibil was waiting for Anja to come home from school. They had an afternoon ritual where they discussed the days’ classes together. Anja usually explained the homework that was set. It helped her to clarify what she needed to do. Sibil often wished she could help her daughter with it.

Anja was an intelligent girl with a level head. At the age of ten her parents could already see the makings of the pilot she wanted to be. She was calm and analytical, with a good problem solving brain. She used new and developing technology as if it were an extension of herself. She idolised her half brother Jake and loved Lucy like a sister.

Sibil knew that Anja would not panic unless she felt threatened by the situation or the people who had kidnapped her. She made up her mind. She sat up straight, took a deep breath and pinged Tim at his office at U.S.E. headquarters. After a few moments Tim picked up the call.

“What’s up sweetheart?” he asked softly.

“Can you talk?” Sibil said.

“Sure,” he replied. “What’s going on?”

“Anja’s been kidnapped,” she said.

“What?”

“Anja’s been kidnapped.”

She heard Tim breathe in heavily as if he had been punched in the stomach. He paused, then said, “I thought that’s what you said. Tell me what happened. Everything.”

Sibil carefully recounted the contents of the call.

“No identification, no demands, nothing,” she went on.

“How long ago was this?” he asked.

“About ten minutes,” Sibil replied.

“What time is Anja usually due home?”

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“How long does it take her to walk home from school?”

“Thirty minutes if she doesn’t stop off at the library on the way home,” said Sibil. “She usually pings me if she’s doing that. Or if she’s stopped at a friends’ house. I was expecting her here any minute.”

Sibil’s composure began to fade. Tim could hear her agitation in his earpiece.

“Why would anyone want to take Anja?” she asked. “It just doesn’t make sense!”

“Sibil,” said Tim, “Stay right where you are, I’m coming home. I won’t be long.”

He clicked off the call. She began to cry. By the time Tim arrived half an hour later Sibil’s face was blotchy and her eyes were red. Tim hugged his wife and turned to the bar to pour them both a shot of vodka. Sibil sniffed and dabbed at her face with some tissues, glad that he had come straight home. The vodka burned her throat as she downed it in one swallow. She made a face.

“Never liked that stuff!” she said as she put the shot glass back on the sideboard. Tim smiled at her.

“It has its’ uses,” he said, and swallowed his drink too. “I made a few enquiries before I left the office. This smacks of the Intergalactic Mafia.” Sibil looked shocked.

“What would the mafia want with us?” she asked. “You’ve always had a reasonable relationship with them, if you can call it that. What are you talking about?”

“Well, I haven’t told you everything that’s been going on with Universal Starship Enterprises of late. Mainly because I thought it was safer that you didn’t know.”

“What exactly do you mean?” Sibil asked, looking at her husband expectantly.

“You remember that ship that went missing some months ago? The reason we set up the breakdown and repair service?”

“Yes,” Sibil nodded.

“One of Yuri Orlov’s daughters was on that ship when it went rogue. She was killed when it crashed. I’d hoped we could negotiate some kind of settlement with her family when we knew for sure, but obviously not.” Tim rubbed his eyes and then ran his hands through his short blond hair.

“You have to go after her,” Sibil said. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

Tim sighed and sat down on the sofa. He patted the seat next to him. Sibil sat and he put his arm round her shoulders, pulling her close. He kissed her forehead and stroked the side of her face. She smiled weakly at him.

“You’re absolutely right,” he said. “But I think this is a job for Jake and Lucy. With his training and her enhancements they should be able to deal with just about anything the IGM throws at them.”

“But what if Anja’s dead?” Sibil whispered.

“She won’t be,” replied Tim. “She’s way more valuable to them alive. You know how these people operate.”

Sibil’s coms unit pinged. She took a deep, calming breath. She put the call on speaker so that Tim could hear it.

“Sibil Stern,” she said, calmly and clearly.

“Your daughter is safe with the IGM,” said a male voice. “As long as you do not attempt a rescue she will remain safe. If you contact the police, she will die.” The call ended with a click.

“Was that the same voice?” asked Tim. Sibil shook her head.

“Could be anybody,” he muttered. “But at least we know it is the IGM. But what the hell do they mean. If they are not going to hurt her, what are they going to do?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” muttered Sibil. “What are we going to do?’

Tim gathered Sibil to him and they sat for a while, huddled together on the sofa. He gently stroked his wife’s hair. Finally he roused himself enough to call Jake. He quickly filled him in on what had happened.

“I need you to add another responsibility to your list,” he said.

“I’m listening,” replied Jake.

“Proceed as you were with your repairs, but see if you can pick up from the scuttlebutt around the docks which crew may have snatched Anja. If you can find her I want you to work out a way to track her until we can come up with a plan. They said they won’t harm her if we stay away. If we attempt a rescue now they will kill her.”

“Are you going to let the system police know what’s going on?” Jake asked.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Tim replied. “I don’t know if there’s much to be gained by it. Everybody knows that some of the top guys are in the pocket of the IGM. Who knows what they might do next.”

“I’ll brief Lucy,” said Jake. “I’ll get back to you when I know something.” He ended the call.

Tim turned back to Sibil. “Anja will be alright,” he said. “I’m sure of it. She’s a smart girl. She’s always calm under pressure, you know that. I don’t want to provoke the kidnappers, so we’ll just have to sit tight for now. We’ll wait until we hear from Jake again before we decide what to do. OK?”

Sibil nodded. She dabbed the tears away from her face and hugged her husband again.

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