"Fortune's Favour"
Author: CdnJAGScribe
E-mail:
Rating: M
Classification:
Spoilers:
Summary: A twist of fortune brings Meg and Animal a turn of events that plunge them into the heart of the gentry.
DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, Bud Roberts, Harriet Sims-Roberts et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. Animal and all OC characters are the property of Heather and Hugo Chikamori. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended.
(Introduction)
Meg & Animal's Home, 5161 Musgrave Crescent, Richmond, BC.
Meg Austin-Nakamura was in the kitchen cooking dinner for herself and her husband. Her husband after leaving the US Navy opted for the quieter life north of the border. It also didn't hurt that Harm had also followed his step-father and moved up to Canada, Mac in tow, ostensibly to be closer to his family. However that was debatable due to his step-father and his biological mother being on the opposite side of where they now lived. Chrysler Canada was headquartered in Windsor, Ontario, right across the Detroit River from Detroit. And the funny thing about geographical location was that Windsor, ON, was located south-east of Detroit, so in essence you were looking south-east into Canada and Detroit was higher geographically than Windsor, Ontario. But as it was, Harm and Mac decided to make their home close to Animal and Meg. In fact they were nearly neighbours, living only three blocks east of Musgrave Crescent
Animal and Meg had lived frugally throughout most of their lives, saving up their income from their naval careers and thus when an upheaval such as the prospect of moving right across the continent and across the border became reality it was easily doable financially as far as the move was concerned. It wasn't easy physically, packing up over twenty years of living together, possessions and all, but whatever they did, they did it together and that was the most important thing. There had been a lot of conversation regarding the move and how they would manage to survive as the four weren't working and relying on their retirement pay from the United States Navy.
Animal and Harm had concocted an idea that they would fly a charter jet aircraft based out of Vancouver International Airport and enjoy a career shuttling executives from point A to point B: Animal flying captain's chair and Harm flying in the right hand first officer's seat. They decided to call the airline, Maple Corporate Air Charter and had a lock on an ex-RCAF CC-144 Bombardier Challenger with light hours. Animal, being a consummate bargain-hunter, managed to get a good deal on it. Licensed by Transport Canada within a month after looking over Animal's log books, Animal was able to re-register the Challenger and fly it from Trenton all the way back to Richmond and look for someone to paint over the RCAF markings and repaint the registration markings on the aircraft. Sarah Mackenzie-Rabb had rolled her eyes, muttered something about boys will be boys and said nothing further on the subject. Harm had managed to get his logbooks assessed after Animal and had managed to obtain his commercial airline pilot's license two weeks after Animal received his. Meg and Mac ended up being both secretary and legal department of the new fledgling airline. Above-all, they were having fun.
Commander Mattie Grace-Rabb was based out of NAS North Island in Southern California and flew F-35As for the United States Navy, now commanding Animal's former squadron, the VFA-41 Black Aces. She occasionally flew up to Vancouver to visit Harm and Mac. She was of the unsubtle opinion that Harm and Animal had lost their ever-loving minds. "Dad, Uncle Tosh, you two are completely nuts to start a charter business in this economy." Animal however had mumbled some Confucian saying about the frog who does not open his mouth does not capture the flies.
Ashburn Manor, United Kingdom (four days earlier)
Barrister David McAllister looked upon his long-time friend of over thirty years, not as a friend, but as a client in this case, pursing his lips in concentration as he gazed upon the rather still form of his friend and client propped up by a multitude of pillows on his bed. "M'Lord," he said to the rather haggard looking man, "We've found her."
William Michael Austin, the 3rd Baron Austin nodded silently in relief. His lands would not revert back to the Crown nor would his peerage go dormant or extinct. One of his greatest fears was to not find an heir to his fortune and his lands. Baron Austin had not married, nor had he produced any legitimate or illegitimate heirs to his title or to his estates.
"The only problem that I can foresee, is that she is as common as grass." His solicitor indicated as he looked over at the . "She served in the United States Navy and she is married to yet another United States Navy officer, a Japanese-American admiral."
Baron Austin coughed for a long violent moment, dabbing his mouth with a napkin when he finished. "Married to a Japanese-American, you say?" When the barrister nodded, the baron replied weakly, his strength failing him, "No matter, Donald, Other than a few stodgy sticks-in-the-mud who can't get over Hong Kong which this man had nothing to do with, it should not matter a whit."
"But your peerage, M'Lord." The barrister protested aghast at the thought. "There has never been a foreigner who has become a Baron…and your fortune…"
"My good man, do you happen to have a prejudice against my family member's choice of spouse?" Baron Austin proclaimed archly. He winced as his pain medications seemed to have worn off and pain coloured his next sentence. "You will find my relative and bring her and her husband to me. Be a good man and use my aircraft and fly over."
"Of course, M'Lord." McAllister replied, recognizing dismissal when he heard one. The 737-800ER should have been prepared as he had expected this in advance of seeing his lordship Baron Austin and he would waste no time in flying over to do Austin's bidding. As he left Baron Austin's bedside, he noted the waxen pallor of his friend. What a shame that it had come to this. Baron Austin in his prime had been a horseman, a wicked polo player, strong as whipcord, rangy and fair, but the cancer that had ravaged his body had stripped him of that strength as well as leaving a shell of a man with only his determination to find his heir sustaining him. And that determination had confounded his doctors who had stated that he only had but a few weeks left to live. His lordship had been exceedingly anxious in recent days for any solid leads that would translate to results and the tension in the room had been palpable. But investigation had revealed a heir in the Colonies. His title was officially the 8th Baron Austin, but everyone referred to him as My Lord as most members of the peerage were referred to as Lord.
Solicitor McAllister had been so ensconced in his thoughts that he'd been startled when the driver had stopped and he'd looked up to find himself at Moorshead, a private airfield with an unusually long runway near Buckinghamshire. The runway was long enough to handle Baron Austin's private aircraft. The Baron rarely ever used the aircraft any more since his downwards turn of health and it would take a while to make the aircraft ready for a transatlantic flight.
Donald McAllister had not just come across Baron Austin as a client but had also been fast friends with William Austin since Eton in Berkshire, and then from there, to Oxford, so finding Will's heir was a not only a task but a favour for a long-time friend; a last wish so that his friend could rest easy. He gazed somberly at the 737-800ER sitting on the tarmac a few hundred meters away.
Trying to find Baron Austin's family was a dogged effort on McAllister's part however a few visits to the Royal Archives had turned up a promising lead that he had pursued with the tenacity of an English Bulldog and had managed to uncover a trail leading to the Colonies. He smiled as the uniquely British term for the United States ran across his mind as his thoughts raced as to how many things he had to do in order to find Will's heir and bring her to him. To that end he applied himself to tracking down the whereabouts of one Meg Austin and what a revelation that was to find out that she had in fact left the United States and was now settled in Canada. Her name was now Meg Austin-Nakamura and her brother was Joseph Austin. Current US law did not allow United States citizens to adopt peerage titles and thus, Joe Austin, as a resident of the United States, would be unable to become the next Baron Austin. Margaret Austin-Nakamura would, however, be able to do so and thus become the Baroness Austin; her husband taking the title of Baron Austin with Royal Assent. But how would the population of Buckinghamshire take to someone foreign, not of British Blood becoming a member of the peerage and assuming British nobility. There would be definitely a to-do no doubt, McAllister thought to himself.
Interrupting his thoughts, the captain of the Boeing 737-800ER notified him that the aircraft was now ready to board. Sighing at the thought of the exhausting transatlantic crossing to come, he exited the car and made his way to the waiting aircraft.
Meg & Animal's Home 5161 Musgrave Crescent, Richmond, BC (Current)
The sound of the doorbell caused Meg to look up. That would not be her husband as he was down at Vancouver International Airport checking on the status of their Challenger. Charter calls were few during this season and money was tight. But she held out hope that there would be better pickings later that year. It paid to keep a fully fuelled aircraft at the ready in case a last minute charter request came in. Their house was modest in comparison to their former home in Annapolis Maryland, but they were happy and that was of prime importance.
The doorbell rang again insistently. Meg swore a pungent oath and shrugged her shoulders heading out to answer the door. Upon opening the door she found a rather small man about five foot seven dressed in a Harris Tweed jacket looking sombrely at her through spectacles. "Margaret Austin-Nakamura, I presume?" his cultured British accent hung in the air between them as he looked up owlishly at her, rather startled at her height of five eleven that was considered very tall for a woman.
Meg drawled, "Who's askin'?" as sharply as she could.
"My name is Donald McAllister, Barrister Solicitor, of McAllister, Cromwell and Davie in London England. I am here to deliver some news and ask you and your husband to accompany me to England to meet my client." The man who claimed to be a Barrister and identified himself as McAllister stated.
"For what?" Meg glowered at the man unsure of just what this unknown man was getting at.
"You have children?" the barrister asked ignoring the sarcastic query Meg had fired in his direction.
"Two, however they're grown and flown the nest." Meg replied, her tone more than irritated. "And I was in the midst of cooking dinner for my husband who should be home from the airport in less than twenty minutes."
"I'm home, honey." Animal called out from the front yard, looking peevishly at the stranger on his doorstep, after having to park his car on the side street after seeing that the barrister had taken up his spot on the driveway.
"Very good" the barrister said in a no-nonsense tone of voice, "This will be much more convenient than to have to relate my tale twice."
"Who's he?" Animal asked, rather put-out, firstly due to his parking spot being obstructed by the person on his doorstep, secondly because of the pedantic attitude of said person who took his parking spot and was also obstructing his entrance into his own house.
"So you have no dependents living with you at this time?" the man said oblivious to Animal's pique and the shrug of shoulders that Meg transmitted to her husband.
"I believe, I just said that." Meg growled sourly. "Not to be rude, but you're obstructing my husband from getting in to the house so can we please continue this conversation inside the house before our neighbours get our entire family history related to them from our front doorstep? I'm sure that the Changs and the Xiaos would prefer not to have to involuntarily listen in."
"Oh, that's because they're pissed off at me for yelling at them about their dogs taking a dump in our backyard." Animal said cheerily at Meg who rolled her eyes.
Meg groaned, "What did you say to them, dear?" She didn't really want to know and ushered the barrister and Animal into the house, shutting the door.
"Oh, nothing…well, just that I'd happily char-siu their rat-dogs and send them some." Animal grinned wolfishly.
"Ewwwww!" Meg made a face at the implied visual while the barrister looked horrified.
"So, what's for dinner?" Animal asked on that happy note.
Meg chose to ignore that and turned to the solicitor. "Please excuse my husband, he has a tendency to annoy our neighbours and he hasn't grown up yet." She commented apologetically.
"As we were getting to…" McAllister exclaimed, "My client would like to make your acquaintance as soon as possible." Animal excused himself to see to the rest of the dinner.
"Is there a reason?" Meg asked quietly looking at the barrister with some concern.
"None that he wishes to disclose at this particular time; but rest assured, Mrs. Nakamura that the requirement to see him is very urgent." McAllister reiterated. "He wishes to see you and yours as soon as possible." The barrister looked at his watch and then at his daytimer. "If we were to leave here at six thirty, we would arrive in London at eight o'clock Saturday Morning." He paused for a long moment. "Then you should have a day to yourselves before meeting my client."
"Should we have our own lawyer?" Animal asked from the door to the dining room.
"It would be wise. I currently represent my client at this stage and it is uncertain as to what the future holds in terms of retention of my services." The barrister looked over at Meg's husband and stated succinctly.