" I expect so," replied Ned, pensively. "I can't think what else it could be."A little later Ned left to drive over to the next village where his Uncl... George and Aunt Miri lived. Despite the fine day and the wonderful scenery he once again felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he again ran through the events of the last few weeks.Lia had been the love of his life so far. From their first date, a trip to the museum and art gallery in the nearby seaside town, and their meetings in. ”He turned and led the way to an unmarked hover car. I looked at the other junior sergeant behind the wheel as he opened the door for us. I moved into the back seat and he sat beside the driver. I watched as we moved through the city, “Why is the heir going to Wayne?”They looked at each other and the driver turned back to watch where he was driving. The other sergeant turned in his seat, “The emperor received a request from Admiral Harris to attend and address the advanced Command officers. My dignity was more important to me than a one-night stand. And she certainly wasn’t worth a night in jail either. As I closed the door behind me, I could still hear her ranting.’ Sam got louder as she growled, ‘Driving home, I was pissed. I couldn’t believe it. Was I that stupid? I made up my mind after that fucked up evening, I wasn’t going to date again for while.’ Sam’s voice became tentative, ‘When I woke up this morning, I remembered what happened last night. It bothered me a little —. In another fascinating coincidence, Tiny found out that Bob knew Lovett very well indeed. Bob was the owner of that recently established small botanical research center there! Just ‘exactly’ what he was cultivating there I’m not sure — Bob had more than his share of secrets, but I’m sure it had something to do with that elusive billion dollars… and the organic ingredients that made Batch 31. That started a long discussion between the two of them that lasted most of our evening together. Tiny.