I watched him sit at an empty booth and saw he was drinking Budweiser as well. I finished my first and order two more and eased my way to his booth. �...�May I join you and offer you a drink, friend?” I asked him. When he smiled, his deep blue eyes sparkled. In a rich deep voice, he answered, “Please I would enjoy your company and thank you for the beer. My name is Tom.” “Nice to meet you, Tom. My name is Greg,” I said as I handed him his beer. “I haven’t been in here for a couple of years now. Is. Which one? Could it be Red Rose? Could another heir to the Rose Throne be out there that she did not know about? But who? She thought back through the lineage and it did not add up. Who could it be? She knew every member of the royal family. By the Goddess, she was a member of the royal family! There was no one else, but was there? Oh, Goddess, had Dana found Red Rose? She had not communicated with her youngest in almost a year. Not since she started actively searching for the Rose Throne.. . hung ... skinned alive and rolled in salt ... beheaded ... children bayonetted. Not happening on my watch. Those fat cats could leave their Malay servants ... they were 'pure.' The slope heads wouldn't bother them."The problem we had defending against the yellow bastards was exacerbated by the bastards tactics. If we stopped them ... and never doubt it ... stop them we did. Every-time we did, they'd land troops behind us and we'd have to defend our rear. Lots of times we were playing leapfrog. He had appeared in a Spartan one-room bedroom combination office whichhad the distinct look of a dorm room. He was speaking to a woman seatedon a hard-backed chair, turned away from a simple wooden desk with acomputer on top. The only other furniture in the room was a bed and asmall bookcase full of textbooks and binders.He was not sure that this was Bettina. Three years was a long time andalmost anyone could have the vessel by now. She had blond hair and wasabout the right age but the.