Flash Fiction: Janeka Finds Out (PMF) (Patreon)

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I liked pretty much all of them, but selections really does come down to seeing which idea my brain latches onto the firmest.

Turns out it was "Kind of curious how Janeka initially reacted when she found out what Tanner was up to at the end of dead man's debt" from Andrew Bazhaw. :)

Desolation and loss stretched before her, crying out for relief. The scars and regrets of war took time to heal. She would need to see her counselor, talk to Mom, let her family release their tension and worry before she could finally let go of her own. Chris was already the easiest, listening and letting her work through things so she could deal with everyone else. She had reasons for marrying him. Lots of reasons.

But even Chris couldn’t do it all himself. Not for long. The mess of empty, disorderly jars in the spice cabinet testified to that. Michelle had been away from home too long.

“Andrew,” she called, “how often do you and your daddy get take-out for dinner?”

“Only twice a week,” her son answered from the living room. “He’s got a rule.”

“That’s better than I expec—” Her muttering thought stopped cold. She rounded the counter and dividing wall to their living room. Andrew sat pretzel-style on the couch in shorts and his soccer jersey, surrounded by floating holo screens. She wanted to pick him up and hug him every time she saw him. He couldn’t be eight already, but here he was. “Is that all homework?”

“Yeah. I do all my assignments at once.”

“While watching a movie?” Her eyebrow rose at the screen of video on his left.

“Ms. Chang told us to watch the news, Mom,” he answered solemnly. “She said this week is historic. It’s homework. Promise.”

“Mm-hm.” His grades put his methods beyond reproach. She dropped it for the more pressing concern. “How long has your daddy been cooking with an empty spice cabinet?”

Andrew’s jaw tightened with trepidation and the conflicts of loyalty versus self-interest. “Dad’s had to deal with a lot while you were gone.”

“I know he has, baby. I’m not mad.”

“Can you win the war faster next time?”

“I’ll do my best,” Michelle vowed. “Also, don’t ever talk about it like that to anyone but me. People have big feelings about all this. It can really hurt.”

“I know. Dad told me.”

Michelle returned to the kitchen. Organizing could wait until after replenishment, which couldn’t happen until inventory, requiring organization. She released and accepted with a long breath and started pulling jars, sorting alphabetically. Half of her was annoyed. The other half felt thrilled at such a simple task.

She’d wanted to win the war faster, too.

“Mom, what’s a consulate?” Andrew called.

“Do you know what a diplomat is?” she replied.

“Yeah.”

“A consulate is an office where diplomats work.”

“Oh.” He fell silent again while she sorted the first row of jars. “What’s diplomatic immunity?”

“It’s a rule for diplomats. You can’t arrest a diplomat.”

“Or anyone in an embassy?”

“Basically. An embassy has diplomatic immunity like the people in it.”

“Ohhh,” Andrew understood.

“Never run out of clove,” Michelle muttered at one full jar. “Why keep it if we don’t use it?”

“Mom, what’s treason?”

“Baby, what are you watching?” Michelle rounded the corner into the living room again, where Andrew had his video screen doubled in size. An aerial view displayed a compound Michelle didn’t recognize. Inside the walls sat a smoldering starship lifeboat at the end of a freshly-plowed trench, while police vehicles surrounded the streets and the skies.

Inset pictures displayed a pair of faces: a pirate Michelle knew by reputation and a young man she knew personally. Andrew pointed to the second. “Hey, isn’t he your friend?”

* * *

“I can get in there. I won’t hurt anyone,” said the gunny.

“Michelle—”

“I don’t even want to hurt anyone.”

The admiral on her holo screen frowned. “Your tone is unconvincing.”

“I just want to find out what he knew and how long he knew it,” Michelle explained through gritted teeth.

“And how long he’s been keeping it from you?”

“Yes. From us,” said Gunny Janeka.

Meiling Yeoh sighed, glancing away from the screen. “I suppose I should thank you for that. You’re the first person to contact me who hasn’t asked if I knew about this.”

“Of course, you didn’t know. You wouldn’t tolerate this pirate bullshit. And if you knew it was going on, you’d know better than to send him in alone to deal with it. You’d have sent me.”

“I’ll be sure to tell that to the Senate panel when they call me in for questioning.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing, Michelle. I had nothing to do with this and I want it to stay that way.” Meiling looked away again, frowning. She had to be tracking a dozen information feeds and half as many staffers doing the same. “This is bound to become a circus and I don’t know when I’ll get home again. Can I send the girls to your place?”

The gunny relented, nodding her head. “I’ll go get them now,” said Michelle.

“Hey, Mom?” Andrew called. “Why did the news call this a political dumpster fire?”