TUELLO AS ALWAYS

"Mr. Tuello," Nick greeted as Mark strode in through the heavy ITWC cell-door. Before finishing, Nick waited for the inevitable 'clang' of it closing, plus the electronic 'beep' signaling its security.

"I have a feeling I know to what I owe this pleasure!" Nick said as he sat at the lone table in the room.

Tuello said as he sat opposite, "Hey Commander! I trust I find you well this morning?"

"Could be worse," Blaine said. "We could be in court," he said smiling. Nick then pointed to what was beyond one of the walls, "back there are noisy Gilead-sympathizers, chanting on the street. You must love that!"

"Well, Nick," Tuello said, "don't get your hopes up. They mainly chant for Serena Joy. Most Gilead-types in Canada think of you as a sell out. You get a mention from some, I think there was one sign supporting you. I can't remember who dragged it down - it could have been another Gilead supporter, but there are many from Little America who are counter-protesting." Tuello told Blaine about how the Canadian PMO wants to be 'rid of it all'.

"My guess, Commander? The lot of you end up in Hawai'i, where you're our problem. Where we can't be interfered with."

"Geez, me? I wish all of them would go home." Nick could not decide who scared him more, Little America or Gilead-wannabees. He asked Tuello, "can we talk about something else?"

"Well, okay, Commander Blaine, that's exactly why I'm here." Pulling out three file folders and opening one, he added, "I'm not saying this just to butter you up, really I'm not. But you're one of the more pleasant ones."

"Ouch," Nick winced. "More palatable than Fred Waterford, or Serena? I mean, how many of us do you have experience with?"

Tuello smiled, "don't forget Commander Lawrence. That guy…. speaking of Lawrence, isn't he well past his expiry date? He's hard to figure out - your Chancery-system is hard to figure out, Lawrence was never on the Wall. Surely his theories and organizational abilities are now hard-baked onto Gilead? Why keep him?" Tuello looked up from a paper he was handling, and finished with, "what gives with Lawrence? Why's he even still there?"

Blaine waxed rhetorical, "Everyone wants to figure out Gilead. There's not much to figure. It was Commander Pryce who said it. He was of the opinion that God had long-since abandoned Gilead - greed, lust…. and that was just the Commanders!"

"Neither of which applied to Lawrence. Why do the others countenance him. He stole children!"

Blaine added, "Look, I actually prefer not to talk about Joseph. He cuts deals. He makes transactions. That's what is to understand. The others? You think they care about kids? About the core reason for Gilead being as harsh as it is? High Commander Pryce, I wish you had met him."

"Okay, for later." Tuello picked up a sheet, "Me, I'm hoping you and me can talk about this form. It's from the Canadians, their Attorney General. The ICC can't wait to get their hands on you, but this form here, it is like a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card."

Blaine said sarcastically, "Is that what Waterford signed?"

Tuello said, "there was no paper for that one. You guys had already made a repatriation request. The Canadian Minister, when the court ruled against Fred's deal, the Minister just ordered his deportation, according to Gilead's wishes. C'mon, you know how that one worked out! That one was easy."

Blaine asked, "and me? I'm hard?"

"No," Tuello said with a sigh, "You have June Osborne and half of Little America on your side."

"Just half?"

Tuello said, "well, you are a Commander of Gilead!" Tuello put the paper down, said, "Osborne has sway, but not with everyone. Just enough to perhaps get me to offer you a one-way ticket to Hawai'i. Like I'd offered Serena Joy Waterford at one time."

Blaine inquired, "Where is she now? No one in here will tell me?"

Tuello said, "She and her baby? Probably running into Janine Lindo on that north-side beach on Kaua'i."

A FLOOD UNDER THE BRIDGE

"Hawai'i might be the only thing the Canadians, and hence the ICC, agree to."

Blaine looked puzzled, "Why's that?"

Tuello said as seriously as anything he'd said, "because of Dr. Malek. Her allegations."

Nick repeated what he'd said before, "Look, I don't know what to say. I have no memory, none at all. I would have remembered a blow-job."

"Really?" Tuello asked. "Would you have? You were a Guardian, you were at one time in charge of an army of some very vulnerable women."

Blaine paused, then asked, "where's June with all of that."

"The two of you have not talked about it?"

"No!"

"And despite Ms. Blue being allowed to give hearsay evidence on many things, Dr. Malek's allegation is not one of them." Tuello then stopped and switched, "Commander Blaine, let's just move on. Maybe it'll be helpful if I go through what is likely to happen. Hawai'i is likely to happen."

Nick smiled, "not Alaska?"

Tuello said, "Okay, Alaska if you want. Both those places make you accessible to the Canadians, but at a merciful arms'-length. If and when Dr. Malek ever wanted to proceed."

Nick protested again, "I told you, nothing ever happened!"

Tuello countered, "That's not what you said, Nick. You said you didn't remember."

COMMANDER JOSEPH LAWRENCE

"So, Nick, how's the weather in Toronto? Couldn't be worse than Boston!"

Blaine buttoned up his heavy coat, not wanting to waste any of his precious time out in 'the yard', even if it had to be with Joseph Lawrence. Being out of that cell, no matter how comfy, was everything.

"Commander! It's nice to see you and feel some love from the Chancery and my brothers!" Nick greeted. Although 'my brothers' had had a sarcastic edge.

Lawrence smiled, "Well, you give love, you receive love. Sooner or later it amounts to something." Lawrence reached into his valise, pulled out a box of cigars. "Hey, Nick, these are from Warren. Maybe you can add them to the stash Waterford had here, the ones he never had a chance to smoke. He probably thought cigars were bad for his health."

"You don't change, Joseph, you don't change," Nick offered, taking the box.

"Hey," Lawrence added, "Putnam sends his thoughts and prayers! It would have been 'thoughts and prayers' from your brothers in Chancery, but that motion failed 13-16."

"Which way did you vote, Joseph?" Nick smiled.

"Me?" Lawrence looked shocked. "Me, I abstained."

Nick laughed, "You abstained over which part? The thoughts or the prayers?"

"Prayers, Nick, the prayers."

Lawrence leaned forward a bit looking around for the security cameras. "I don't know this place, Nick. Should we be walking around or will they be monitoring us regardless?"

Nick said, "Your immunity is secure. Me, they probably already know what we're talking about. Let's just sit here."

"Okay, it's your funeral." Lawrence continued, "Nick, whatever you do, don't come home. Make any deal you can." Nick sat silently, so Lawrence went on, "he's dead, Nick, but Pryce's ghost haunts those guys. He got Guthrie, hero of New York, and if Pryce could get Guthrie, everyone knows they are 'gettable'. If it hadn't have been for the Rachel and Leah bombing…."

"Okay, I get it, Joseph." Blaine observed, "Pryce wasn't even cynical. God Almighty, I wish he were around."

"I don't," Lawrence laughed. "You think I'd be here?"

Lawrence stood, "Look, Nick. Things are shifting. Not with Chancery either. Me, I'm making inroads because of Lydia and Ardua Hall. One day, Lydia is going to figure out she does not need me for leverage. In the meantime, I am going back. Don't you go back - you smell like Pryce. Make a deal, make it here."

Lawrence finished with, "Pryce was a dipshit. An ideolog. You're no ideolog, Nick. But at least you know who he was going to come for. Our brothers in Chancery, Nick, they don't care about fertility. Tell Serena that, next time you two have dinner together."

Looking at the box of cigars, Lawrence said, "Hey, and if you don't want them, just leave those in the cell. I'll smoke them when I get here."

TIME TO GO

Detective Leavelle was accompanying Tuello this time, to help with the transfer. A phalanx of Toronto police were already outside, clearing a corridor from the ITWS front door to the waiting armoured car. A car now surrounded by protesters.

Tuello had got orders from the PMO that this time, it was America's last chance to get a deportation right, even if this one was to what remained of the USA. Tuello thought - rather cynically - typical Canada, all bun and no beef. They should have taken this transfer away from him. Instead, they allowed Tuello to beef up security with an ex-pat Texan detective, Leavelle, fitted out with that trademark Stetson. Ya, like that wasn't going to attract attention.

Yet last time, with Waterford, that deportation had caused the PMO embarrassment. Worse, it had energized Canada's emerging populist right-wing. That's what the PMO hated.

So, they gave it to Tuello on two conditions. One, beef up security. Leavelle's oversized Texan-ness would look good in photos, handcuffed to Commander Blaine while boarding the armoured car.

Two, that Commander Blaine not be spirited out the back. The Canadian government were now in a war with a solid block of right-wingers, people immune to dialogue. The 'populist right', which flew oversized Canadian flags, occupied cities and blocked border crossings with trucks. Who voted in lock-step with one another.

The pro-Gilead protesters at the ITWC Detention Centre, were not all strictly in the populist mode. But they fed off each other, and provided skilful right wing politicians with a solid, immovable political base. To keep its own base happy, the PMO needed to look strong and unafraid.

Therefore, Tuello was going to take Commander Blaine out the front door. Handcuffed to Leavelle.

"Commander Blaine," Tuello said, checking his watch. "We have a few minutes. I'm afraid if she's not here, we are going to go. Yes, it's a military flight, but the Royal Canadian Air Force runs on schedules, too."

The RCAF was tasked with taking Commander Blaine to Vancouver, where an American military aircraft would take him and Leavelle the rest of the way to Hawai'i. The move from Toronto would simplify many things, not the least of which was overlapping jurisdictions, with Canada presently having veto power over them all.

Just as well. Tuello was sick of the PMO!

SECURED TO LEAVELLE

They were ready to go. Det. Leavelle did not need the Stetson to appear a full head taller than Commander Blaine. But Tuello had to admit that the expat-Texan was good optics.

June Osborne, she had made it - just in time. Her comment when arriving at Nick's cell was, "I want people to see us together." As always, Osborne ran to her own agenda.

The deportation-party cleared the last line of security at the ITWC centre, with the wide open rotunda facing them, the large doors at the far end. Tuello and two Toronto police went first, Osborne, Blaine and the Texan were in the middle. Two other cops brought up the rear.

Out into the fresh, cold Toronto air, it was another 50 feet to the vehicles. There was quite the commotion. Seeing Blaine both protesters and Gilead supporters started boo'ing, both sides of the phalanx in front of them.

Tuello quickly turned to the party behind him and said, "Let's get to the armoured car, quick."

As he turned back there was a blur of a person who was being grabbed by one of the forward Toronto police beside Tuello. Osborne yelled, "Emily, no!"

Just as he was thinking, 'No one is supposed to get this close', he heard two gunshots. Really close.

Chaos ensued. Half the protesters fled for cover, but the other half rushed the scene.

There was Leavelle standing there, tall as ever with that Stetson. But his tethered arm looked like it was secured to the ground.

Which, of course, it was not. Below the ex-Texan lay Commander Blaine, in a growing pool of blood.

Beside him - June Osborne.

It was impossible to tell who'd been hit. Whose blood it was. There was so much.