Mercer grinned and stepped inside Ashton’s office, then produced a small black-velvet-covered box.
“Here you are, old friend,” he murmured. “With His Majesty’s compliments.”
And he handed Ashton the box.
Epilogue – Endings and Beginnings
Director Lee Carter was indeed bitterly disappointed that his Deputy Director, Section Director, Field Lead, and Investigations Lead – all bound up in one man – was being forced to retire so early due to a potentially fatal complication from an old injury. And that potentially fatal complication worried him considerably, as he and wife Maia had long thought of Ashton as an adoptive son of sorts.
But when he realized the physician of record was none other than the Emperor’s personal physician, he understood something was up, and that Ashton’s skills and abilities must be desired elsewhere, and likely for an even higher purpose.
“So we’ll miss you, son,” Carter told Ashton. “But I think I get it… at least as much as I’m allowed. And I’ll keep my mouth shut. Take care of yourself, of Cally, and those kids, now. Ping Maia and me once in a while, won’t you?”
“Of course, Lee,” Ashton averred. “You know you and Maia are always welcome to come visit, either on vacation, or once you decide to retire… again.” He shot the older man a teasing grin, and Carter grinned back. Then he rose from behind his desk and came around to shake Ashton’s hand.
“You know it won’t be just the department that’ll miss you, right?” Carter murmured, as they shook.
“Yeah. Oh hell.” Ashton pulled the other man closer. “You and Maia have been as near as possible to surrogate parents for me, so c’mere.”
And he drew the older man into a male embrace.
Only a couple of days later, the word was out in Headquarters, and rapidly spreading through the Imperial Police as a whole.
“Shame about Nick,” the Field Officers Lead noted. “He’s been a damn fine detective. And the way he ran Investigations – hell, the way he ran the Field branch – was as smooth as silk.”
“Yeah, he shoulda had another ten, fifteen good years in him yet,” the head of Forensics agreed. “Maybe twenty.”
“At least. And then I figured he’d take over from Carter, someplace in there. I mean, Peabody is Ashton’s right-hand man as it is, but he’s not young anymore, either.”
“Yeah. Well, you never know when some o’ that old shit is gonna take ya down.”
“Ain’t that the truth. What was it, did you hear?”
“Yeah. Back before the IPD got cleaned up, when he was a young cop, he was on the Throne’s side. One ‘a the corrupt boys took a pot shot at him from a side alley… I think in one ‘a the arcades, if I remember the ICPD report right. Nailed him in the chest, at any rate. He was wearing body armor, but no shock plates.”
“Ooo. That can leave a mark.”
“Yeah. Evidently it did some damage to his heart that they didn’t pick up on at the time. It’s been some few years – hell, it’s prob’ly been a couple decades – so the medicine’s advanced to the point where they finally found it. Way I heard it, if he took another hit – hell, if a perp punched him in the chest, never mind shot him – he might not make it.”
“Shit. He’s been lucky, all this time.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, maybe the new guy over Investigations can use him as a resource or something.”
“Have they pegged who’ll fill Ashton’s shoes, then?”
“Not yet. Carter’s got about three candidates, I think, though I’d bet Peabody takes it until he retires…”
A month and a half later, the Ashton family had settled into a quiet, happy existence on Flanders, on a little estate outside of Norwich on Lake Wensum; poppies grew wild in the fields overlooking the lake. Cally’s parents had moved with them, buying a house near Nick’s Aunt Bea and Uncle Joe, with whom they became good friends. Young Paul and Leya were also delighted to be able to see their summer friends year-round, and their VR school grades even improved.
And Nick Ashton took up fishing on the lake, on whose shore their new home sat. He fished a lot.
Of course, being in VR and fishing look much the same from a distance.
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Author Notes
It’s time to thank the usual suspects. These include my personal beta readers Evelyn Zinn and Dr. James K. Woosley, who are good, and fast, and catch boo-boos quickly, all of which are good things when you’re on a tight publishing schedule. They also include Rich’s readers, who are great, and I appreciate all of you!
Of course I have to thank Richard Weyand, who created this fun universe to play in, and who has graciously allowed me to play in it!
Also my thanks to Joey Morgan, Cheri Partain, Anita Eisenberg, Vanessa Landry, Laura Peterson, Rachel Walbert, Courtney Galloway, Ahmie Kay, Jolie Lachance, Justin Simmons, Christopher MacArthur, Charmalee Bulinski and James K. Burk, members of my fan club group on Facebook, for helping me with some wording when I got stuck!
There are all kinds of places from which I’ve gotten the ideas for this little volume you hold. That said, as I was winding up the final chapter, I suddenly knew that I had to use something from my own history. I used to regularly visit friends in Wellington, FL – George and Esther Zocchi – who allowed me to stay with them and do ‘the horsy thing’ around Wellington and Palm Beach during Season. (No, I wasn’t and am not rich, which is one reason I stayed with them. But I wanted to become a better horsewoman – this was in the days when I wasn’t yet handicapped –
