“Different on our end as well,” Gabriel added. “Alexander and Rebecca are essentially going as the king and queen.”
“It’s not official yet,” Marcello reminded him.
“As good as. The fact the coronation hasn’t happened yet doesn’t diminish the truth.”
Alex noticed something in the messages on screen that made his blood burn. “The ‘R’ they’re referring to—is that Rebecca?”
“Maybe but we’re not sure yet, Your Highness,” Mirabel said. “There are a few others it could refer to, even you if they’re using a nickname to refer to you, or ‘R’ could simply stand for royal in general. It could also refer to someone else not related to our visit atall, but to someone or something from another nation. That’s one of the things the U.S. is confirming for us.”
That wasn’t good enough for him. ‘Maybes’ weren’t enough to keep his wife safe. “Should we think about cancelling the tour? Or rescheduling for appearances’ sake? I won’t go if my wife is at risk, in any way, shape, or form.” Including her health, though he didn’t say that part out loud.
“I think it’s far too early for that,” Marcello said. “We’ve already spent months prepping for this thing, and the politics and perception of cancelling—even if we call it a reschedule—isn’t going to help us, particularly since the abdication and coronation announcement.”
“I agree,” his father added. “You’ll need to travel for the All Nations meeting in any case. Going on your own without Rebecca will only lead to speculation and gossip we can’t afford until after the coronation.”
Ethan glanced at Anda and they had some unspoken communication before he spoke. “Anda and I will travel with you, back you up. I can attend all the healthcare-related meetings with you as a doctor, and Anda can have some meetings scheduled with Rebecca in L.A. as part of her cover.” Ethan, though primarily a doctor in the Navy, also worked as a Vallerian intelligence agent with Anda, whose cover was that of a famous actress.
“It’s a good idea,” Alex conceded. “Though we need to keep the focus on me and especially on Rebecca. One of the main goals of this trip is to establish ourselves as leaders on the world stage, even though we are notofficiallyking and queen yet. You and Anda—and I mean no offense by this—are a distraction. We need the focus on us.”
Ethan just smiled. “I have always been more loved than you. I am the youngest of the family after all, the most beloved, the most?—”
“Sickening?” Marcello suggested.
“Disturbing?” Alex added.
“Repulsive?” Marcello chimed in again.
“Overrated?” Alex proposed.
“Enough,” their father said in his quiet strong voice, but with asmile on his face. “Back to the matter at hand, I like the idea of Ethan and Anda going, but agree that it wouldn’t look right if they did.”
Anda pushed back from her chair and walked towards a different screen. She tapped and moved a few things around, then enlarged a particular document with the itinerary. “So why don’t we go early? We can do our own recon on this group, and then join you and Rebecca at specific events. If it looks like we’ve been there ahead of time, the press will get their initial fill of us, so we won’t divert as much attention when you arrive.
“Also, we’ll stay in L.A. If we’re not at too many other meetings in the country, we’ll appear more ‘contained’, for lack of a better word. From the outside, we’ll only be associated with Hollywood, not politics.”
Alex rubbed a finger over his upper lip, thinking through the timing. “You’d have to leave fairly soon. Could you set up meetings and get things in place in the next week or so? And won’t you have to coordinate security and all that for the visit?”
Anda shook her head but said, “Yes to the first question—meetings are easy to set up, especially for me, and I have ongoing work Ethan and I can pursue while we’re there.” Anda was working a long game to uncover corruption in the entertainment industry.
“I really am a fabulous actress, and my popularity has shot up since Ethan and I were revealed as a couple, and since the involvement in my next movie was announced.” Anda wasn’t being conceited, she was simply stating fact.
Anda shook her head. “No, however, to the second question. We’d have to inform them we were coming, but we can keep it more low key. The heavier security will be around you and Rebecca anyway as the future rulers.”
“I also don’t want the U.S. to know about your dual roles as intelligence agents,” Marcello added. “So, if we do this, let’s insist on personal security for you both that Valleria will pay for. That way, we aren’t adding to the financial and resource burden ofAlex and Rebecca’s visit.”
“Why don’t we use Bash’s team?” Ethan suggested, referring to his future brother-in-law, Eddie, and his security company.
Marcello nodded. “I was thinking the same thing, but we’re still going to need some locals to help gather intel. Let’s get a bead on the rest of our network of agents.”
Mirabel held up her pen-filled hand, then made a few notes. “I’ll work on that and connect with nearby assets on the ground. Next time they check in, we’ll give them an updated task list.”
“Then let’s break for now.” Marcello checked his watch. “We’ll reconvene tonight after Mirabel and I check in with the Americans. Ethan and Anda—I’ll let the U.S. know you’re coming early, so you should be ready to fly no later than Sunday night.”
“We’ll be ready,” Anda said as she put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
“Good. I want to stress that we don’t know much, but I don’t see any reason to cancel the tour at this point. Let’s take things day-by-day, hour-by-hour, and go from there.”
Everyone agreed and started to get up and leave. Alex stayed behind, gesturing for his father to step into one of the smaller side-rooms where they could have some privacy.
