“Oh! Thank you, sir!”
“Now, I’ve just sent a message to the facilities manager that he is to assign you to me until further notice, and hire someone else to handle the rest of the consulate,” Niebecker continued. “So if you would, tidy up the inner and outer offices a bit while I figure out what’s what, here. But try to be as quiet as you can, so I can concentrate.”
“Of course, Your Excellency,” Ashton said, bowing.
Then he went to put away the mops and buckets and get out the dusting and polishing equipment.
That first day, Ashton tidied up the consul’s office, inner and outer; put away two cases of books the consul had brought with him; helped the consul find his functionaries’ offices elsewhere in the building; fetched lunch; kept watch over the outer office whenever the consul took a hygienic break; and carried documentation to various staffers in the building.
By the second day, Ashton was helping the new receptionist with similar duties, including answering consulate calls a couple of times while the receptionist took a hygienic break.
On the third day, the consul called him into his office.
“Close the door behind you, Mr. Lindberg,” he said, as Ashton came into the office. As Ashton complied, Niebecker asked, “May I have the privilege of calling you Nik?”
“Certainly, Your Excellency, if you wish,” Ashton replied.
“Good. Nik, I need your assistance in something.”
“What would that be, sir?”
“Do you happen to know where the Garland consulate is?”
“Um… oh! Yes, sir.”
“What about Terre Autre?”
“That one, too.”
“Very good. I have some items that need to go to them, and I had rather not use the Sintaran VR system, as it may be being watched after everything that has gone down. And of course, neither of them are on the Annalian system. So I need a courier.”
“I see, sir. And you want me to take those items to them?”
“I do.”
“All right. Do I, um, need to change clothes or something? I mean, I’m just in a coverall…”
“No, I think that will make you more nondescript. I will inform them to watch for someone of your description; it will be fine.”
“All right, sir. Now?”
“Yes.” Niebecker rose and came around the desk. “Here.” He handed Ashton two small data storage devices. “They are identical. One must be placed in the hands of the Garland consul, the other in the hands of the Terre Autre consul.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be back as soon as I can get back, sir.”
“Very good. Go.”
Ashton went.
Ashton headed straight for the Garland consulate. He knew that this was a test, and that whatever information was stored on the device would be relatively innocuous; it was much too soon for the spymaster consul to trust him with that much. So he went directly to the Garland consulate, requested to speak with the consul personally, was recognized, and carried straight in to see the consul.
He handed over the data storage device without a word; the consul nodded, Ashton turned, and left the building.
From there, he headed for the Terre Autre consulate, and repeated the process.
An hour later he reported back to Niebecker’s office.
“Done, sir,” he said, sketching a loose salute.
“Very good, very good,” Niebecker declared. “Excellent timing, no dawdling, and both consuls contacted me to say they were impressed with my new courier’s all-business demeanor.”
“Demeanor?” Ashton wondered, playing ‘Lindberg’ as slightly less learned than Ashton really was.
“Ah. Your attitude and carriage bespoke you were there on business.”
“Oh. Well, yes, sir; I was.”
“Excellent. That’s all for now, Nik. Do whatever else you need to do.”
Ashton left the consul’s office and helped the receptionist tidy the outer office.
This continued for the first two weeks. During that time, Ashton slept slightly easier at night – he had a rented apartment in a high-rise a solid half-hour walk away from the consulate, and swept it for eavesdropping devices every evening when he got home, and every morning when he woke up. The distance was deliberate, to make it harder to find and more of an effort to do anything with it. But it also meant he had a long walk before and after his work day, which still tended to be physical, if not quite as physical as it had been as the main janitor for the entire consulate. He was glad and relieved to see it when the facility manager finally hired another janitor, but he wondered exactly what Niebecker had told the manager.
The mornings were always busy; he slept as long as he could, then rose, showered, dressed, grabbed something to eat, and headed for the consulate. It was the evenings that were tough – he was used to an extended family, and a large evening meal already prepared when he arrived home, with a child to hug and hold, and a wife to welcome him with kisses, and relaxed, loving conversation and camaraderie with his wife and her parents. He had none of that here, and he missed it badly.
As his duties began to revolve more and more around the consul’s office suite, and going to and from other consulates, he upgraded his wardrobe a bit and began wearing casual trousers and collared shirts, but no tie or jacket. He also styled his hair a little more neatly, and ensured the golden blond color he was using on it – it was normally a dark brown with the occasional ash blond highlight if he spent time in the sun – was renewed frequently; it wouldn’t do to show roots at this point. The blue-tinted contact lenses he wore – and which he’d finally gotten used to wearing – were in good supply, and could be slept in for extended periods of time, which meant he didn’t risk forgetting and showing up at the
