Thin Ice Meeting

[Laura C.]

Polizeidirektor Laura Carsten docked her Phantom in one of Freeport´s One docking bays, issued orders to the wachmann Sauber which she brought with her - just in case - and grabbed clothes for the meeting from the ship. Then went alone to the room in one of Freeport hotels, took a quick shower, dressed and prepared and with quick pace walked out of the room to find the Excelsior restaurant where she was invited by IMG representative Jack Henderson.

Jack was already waiting in the restaurant, sitting on the table he reserved for him and her and when he saw her entering and the waiter pointing her into his direction, he got up and smiled into her direction openly. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, a sportive version without a tie.
"Lovely you could make it, Polizeidirektorin Carsten," he smiled and the waiter took the chair, pulled it back so she could sit down. Jack waited until the lady has been seated.

Laura took off her jacket herself without letting anybody to help her, violating the etiquette of high class restaurant within first half a minute. Then gave it to the waiter and went to the table, wearing something what she considered as "something what should be appropriate" - shirt and jeans. The shirt was decorated with small blue jillie flower in the small pocket on the chest, another very likely unintentional complement was a fresh bandage on the left forearm.
Guten Abend, Herr Henderson. Nice to meet you in person, finally," she greeted back with neutral voice and face expression, then moved her hand forward to offer handshake.
Jack shook her hand, smiling to her and he already took off his jacket when he realized that she is dressed in a much less formal style to make the difference less visible.
"A perfect evening to have a talk, Ms. Carsten. I don't know... whether that is too much to ask, but... Jack, if you do not have anything against it. Makes conversation so much easier and especially tricky topics... require some ease," he smiles and waves to the waiter that bring her a menu.
"I can recommend the red wine... Burgundy something... some Gallic name. But very good," he nodded towards his glass that is filled with a dark red wine.
"I apologize that I already started without you."
Laura looked at Jack with watchful look for a moment, obviously evaluating the offer.
"Nothing personal, Herr Henderson, but I would rather wait with too much informal style. I don´t think I want to hear any rumours that representative of IMG is calling Rheinland polizeidirektor "Laura" and she is calling him "Jack"," she replied, sat and scratched in her typical effulgent red hair.
"And nein, that´s okay. I will start with coffee anyway if you don´t mind. I had a long day."

Jack smiled openly and nodded.
"As you wish, Ms. Carsten. It was worth trying, but I understand that professional distance might be useful later on," he replied and leaned back in the seat and watched her getting comfortable as well.
"So, thank you for coming. I was hoping you could take the time to have dinner with me, as you have already guessed: there are things that I would like to talk to you about. And - I can assure you - it is not about the case. I do not want to get you into a difficult situation..." Jack said and then continued jokingly: "... because, as a consequence, you would very likely get me into a difficult situation. And you are quite a bit more powerful than I am," he added, winked and sipped from the wine.
"You think so? I wouldn´t be so sure. You are safe from me until you commit some crime," Laura replied and grinned a little.
"Also, I doubt you can be dismissed from your position just because some people will think you have wrong reputation...or wrong opinion," she continued and then put two sugars in the coffee after waiter brought it to the table.
"Anyway, what would like you like to talk about?" Laura asked, keeping the neutral voice and then sipped her coffee a little.
Jack smiles and nodded.
"I guess every job has its advantages and disadvantages," he agreed and looked at her with a subtle smile. So far he hardly could imagine her smiling, or even grinning or joking.
"Alright, straight to business... this is what I like about Rheinland officials. No beating around the bush..." he joked and took a sip, then relaxed and started.
"Don't forget to choose your menu. They serve very good food here and it would be a waste of... opportunity not to dine here," he looked at the menu for a moment, but he already chose his dish so he just made sure it still fits his taste.
"Is the food gut hier? Because...you know...Bretonia isn´t famous for its cuisine," Laura said, opened the menu card and started reading.
"But go on, I´m listening," added then.
"It's delicious. We are on a Freeport, which - despite all the problematic people that they attract, also attract a wide range of food from all of Sirius. If you like Kusari dishes, Kyushu Rice here is great. You'll also find your Rheinland dishes. I generally go for Kusari," he told her from his own experience.
"Aaaanyway..." he nodded and continued, "I have to admit, Ms. Carsten, that I am in a bit of a problematic situation at the moment. A problem, that would - when becoming worse - strike the Guild first, then would become a problem for Rheinland and thus you. I think I cannot fully exclude the case at hand at the moment, however I promise not to try and glean anything from you. It's not about the case per se, but about the problematic situations it could conjure, if handled without care," he tried to explain it, skirting around the red line she has drawn around the subject. Then he waited for her answer to see whether this is acceptable.

Laura lifted her eyes from the menu and looked at Jack with sharp look.
"You moved to the thin ice, Herr Henderson. Really thin. I warn you," she said with cold voice, closed the menu and put it back on the table. After letting the words in the air for a moment, she continued, looking straight at Jack.
"But go on."
"I know. And thank you for letting me go on," he continued with the seriousness that the topic had inherently anyway.
"As you know, the IMG| resembles the moderate, main group of the Guild. We have a rather comfortable majority and most people inside the Guild would subscribe to our agenda of generally not causing trouble," he said and looked at her, knowing that she could likely protest here already.
"In sharp contrast there is a newly developing movement at the very fringes of the Guild - extremists, gathering around anger and hate, people that would call the main Guild's stance too weak and cowardly. I am talking about the group of the Holman's Heroes. I am sure you have heard..." he paused for a moment, logging in his menu after she seems to have chosen, into the display that was located as a touchscreen inside the table.
"Holman´s Heroes? Do they use the identification tag [HH]?" she asked, returning to neutral voice and started to logging in her order too.
“Yes. HH-transponder tags. A radical movement inside the whole Guild and very much opposed to the peaceful approach that I represent. I hope we can agree, Ms. Carsten, that despite some problems between Rheinland and its organisations and the Guild as I represent it... our problems are on a rather harmless level, when compared with outright hostility, and disregard for House legislation," Jack said and leaned forward, lowering his voice a little.
"My Guild accepts the law. And the last time we have attacked a Rheinland vessel... I cannot even remember. In stark contrast to this new, ultra-radical group."
"Hm, I know that name then. They already have a file in our database. There is already some investigation. And I agree there is some difference, I never saw your ships openly pirating miners who work for Rheinland corporations. Especially not in capital ship. Where the hell they even got a battlecruiser?" Laura asked and took a large gulp of her coffee.

Jack nodded when she summed up what she knows.
"What you say there is also what I can confirm. The main Guild avoids acting aggressively, we would defend ourselves when under attack, but direct confrontation and criminal behaviour are out of the question. This is our way... they chose a very different one," he said and leaned back, nodding in a serious manner when she addresses this topic.
"In the chaos of the Tau occupation, many things were... let's say it euphemistically... totally out of control. Holman's Heroes were a Tau 31 based group that got displaced. When order breaks down, unscrupulous leaders acquire resources that they think are needed. According to my intel, they are in possession of a limited number of cruiser-class vessels. To be precise – two," he said and couldn't hide a short sigh.
"I assume that these ships have already been implicated in some crimes?" asked then straight away, as this seemed to be new to him.
"At least one of them. Piracy in Omega-11. And also more than warm chat with Red Hessian which appeared there too. Do you think they may work together in an alliance?"
Jack shrugged when heard the question.
"I cannot answer this question with sincerity, Ms. Carsten. They do not report to my Guild, but if I look at their ultra-radical approach, my guess would be - not unlikely," he replied after a moment of thinking about the intel he had. Then took the glass of wine and watched the waiter bringing the dishes to the next table.
"Mmm... yes! I am hungry already,” he joked.
Laura stopped talking and waited until the food was served including her beer and waiter left.

Then let her steak untouched and looked at Jack.
"Well, this might be a problem. Maybe even more for you than for Rheinland. Do you remember what happened to Interspace after their affiliates were caught cooperating with Hessians and supplying them?"
Jack looked at his plate.
"Problem, yes. Whether Rheinland will take the same route?" he said and shrugged.
"You know that better than me. I assume that at the moment, 95 percent of the Guild is staying strictly inside the law and add to Rheinlands gross domestic product. That's good for you, in two aspects. If the same course is chosen as with the IC - which I personally think was a rather bad call - not only 100 percent of Guild´s actions will be against you, but also the flow of resources will stop and will be rerouted to other places," he summed seriously speaking of the consequences.
"To be blunt - this can have grave consequences, for the main Guild and also for Rheinland. The Guild's core needs to stay moderate, neutral, not take sides. Every move that leads to an increase in extremism would damage the peace and stability that we have managed to create and uphold," Jack said and looked in her eyes, reinforcing his point.
"I want to strengthen the stability, predictability and the peace we have. That's what I am concerned about. That's why I invited you."
Laura put a first bite in the mouth and after a while continued.
"Question which comes to my mind - is the Guild´s core willing to help us to eliminate your own extremists?"
"Impossible," Jack answered straight and tried a first bite after that.
"Mmm... it's really good!"
"Ja, you were right. Food is delicious hier," she nodded, put another bite in mouth and then took a large gulp of her beer.
"Impossible? Why? Isn´t your own goal to stay on good terms with Rheinland? I´m not expert in economy and market with raw ores, but if you will lose Rheinland, I doubt you can sell all the ore you sell there somewhere else. That means loss of profit. And usually also layoffs and cuts."
Jack didn´t seem to be willing to even discuss this point, as he just very calmly and seriously shook his head and repeated:
"Impossible, I am sorry."
After that he went on to take another bite, tasting the vegetables and nodded approvingly, then washed it down with some wine.
"Let's not push this point, Ms. Carsten. We both know that the things we love would get damaged if we let it get that far. I am here to find ways to not let it get there in the long run."
"Okay. My next question would be probably what you propose then. However, first I would like to know if answer to this probable question would include current case of two IMG pilots."

Jack smiled and nodded when she asked for his ideas.
"It's interwoven, however I will try to not cross your red line," he said and couldn't help but smirk for a moment, then slowly took another bite, some more wine and finally started.
"I think that the relative peace and stability in Omega 7 is good for all involved parties. That's my premise. Can we agree on this one, or can we not?" he asked her first because of course he knew the voices of the other side's extremists that would call for seizing of Omega 7's resources, for military intervention and much more.
“Ja, indeed. I like when miners are mining and not shooting. We are busy enough with Hessians, Corsairs and pirates," Laura replied.
"But before we continue, and touch the issue the way which may end by my immediate departure, I would like to finish the meal. Thus a little interlude. How long are you working for the IMG?"
Jack laughed when she made that comment and joked.
"Ahhh... that's a pity. And I hoped I could cross the line now and you would still stay and listen because of the delicious food," he said, however accepted her request and answered her question first.
"Thirteen years. First as a private security contractor in Dublin. During the Gold Rush, things were hot there. Hotter than O7 today. That's when my own business collapsed and I took what was left to the Guild. I have never regretted that step," he smiled and continued half-joking.
"I meet interesting people every day. Fascinating leaders. I have the privilege to dine with some, even though I have to choose my words carefully," he ended with a light-hearted, benevolent laugh and went on with eating.

Laura raised eyebrow and tried to suppress the little smile after that remark to keep the neutral expression.
"But your job must be really time consuming. You are responsible for Guild´s business in whole Rheinland and Omegas, right? Or even more?"
"Operations Coordination. And yes, mainly Rheinland and Omegas at the moment, but when things get hot, I also manage Dublin, the system I was born in. Home always stays home... but yes. I do not see my family often. I guess, that's part of the job and the sacrifice all those have to make that work in positions of great responsibility. How about you? Are you married? Children?" he asked her rather directly but with a softness in voice and smile that suggested 'you can tell'.
Laura grimaced.
"I´m married to Rheinland Federal Polizei. It´s a tough love which takes a lot. But we spend lot of time together. Sometimes like fourteen, sixteen hours per day. But to be fair, sometimes give something nice too," she asnwered and used opposite side of the fork to scratch under the bandage.
Jack smiled and nodded.
"I can only advise having a family, Ms. Carsten. They can provide a safety net to fall back into in case of hard times," he said and looked at her, smiling in an almost fatherly manner.
"You were injured? Is it bad? I always hate the itch after injury happens. Has been a while, though. I normally do not fly any more myself and my most important fights take place in... meeting rooms, hotel lobbys and...” he smirked, “restaurants."
"Nothing serious. Just a small reminder to my last encounter with Herr Siegfried Draay of the Red Hessian Army," Laura explained with obvious anger in the voice.
"Rescue system ejected me from my damaged ship in moment when I had hand in wrong position," she added and finished her meal with another large gulp of beer.
"I´m trying to keep in touch with regular duty. It´s bad when the high ranks which make decisions don´t know how the work of common members look like," Laura continued then.
"Anyway, let´s see if I will stay for the dessert. So time for the question. What do you propose?"

Jack nodded and commented.
"I am sorry for that injury. And I appreciate your courage and effort to be out there. When I was as young as you, I tried to do that, too," he joked lightly and then nodded again.
"Okay. I would appreciate it if you stay for desert. So I will tread carefully," he smiled and then leaned back after finishing the meal.
"My proposal is that I would like to avoid anything that inflames the masses inside the Guild. You got that one right when you said: a mining miner is a good miner. An angry miner... we all know what may happen when this comes true. I do not want that. It's highly dangerous. And there we are... at the red line..." he smiled and looks into her eyes.
"Don't walk off now, I ask you... " he said half-serious, half-joking, "... I would appreciate if we could find a solution for the Wagner case that does not play into the hands of Holman Heroes and inflames the masses."
Laura sighed.
"It seems I will have to spare the dessert. Just out of curiosity, what is your idea of solution which would "not play into the hands of Holman Heroes and inflames the masses" to use your words?"
Jack nodded and smiled, logging in his dessert wish.
"Mousse au Chocolat... I love it," he decided and then he looked at her directly and waited for her to have logged in hers to make sure she has a reason to stay for another few moments
"Ah... and a double espresso, too," he logged in that one too and grinned.
"Alright. Ms. Carsten, now I will be crossing this line. If I do, I would ask you to not storm out..." he joked, but then went serious again when he said what he though.
"I have read the answers that were sent by the spokesperson. The official Guild channels are very much limited in their ways of acting. Let's assume that... I am in a position to communicate different things, draw on different resources, keep things from appearing in places that would infuriate the masses. I just want to say that things that the Guild could never say 'yes' to officially, I can," Jack said and grinned in the end, asking her.
"Did I cross the line by a lot?"

Laura let the ordering panel untouched.
"Not yet, despite I hear the thin ice cracking already. Your words can have more meanings. So you can do some things without majority of Guild knowing it. Okay. I´m not surprised. But you are talking about tools now, not about what you really propose. So, what you propose?"
Jack nodded and pointed at the menu.
"I'd be a lot more relaxed if you logged in your desert first," he joked, but she could see that - despite liking the casual conversation with her - he would not evade her now that she directly asked.
"I suggest the following," he started, looking her straight in the eye, "the Guild can never pay reparation to Mr. Wagner to facilitate a soft punishment. It would end in violence. I can see pickaxes being swung... if you can imagine the picture of old times," he tried to joke there, but she could see that it's not a joke. He literally feared violence.
"I propose the payment of reparation to make a harmless verdict happen via underhand channels, meaning you and me. The RFP channels the money to Mr. Wagner, he gets what he wants. The court recognises that the Guild pilots made a mistake. That they are sorry for it and willing to repair the damage done. An acceptable verdict is passed, a fine is paid openly, and it would be an outcome that the Guild can sell to their people as 'justified'. A mistake carries consequences. But shooting Wagner does not feel like... it should result in going to jail. Paying reparations. It would make them see the RFP and Rheinland as... a force protecting a murderer. They will not listen when rational people explain it. They will listen to those who look at the fuse burning... and that cheer the chaos on," he said and kept looking at her with a cool, perhaps almost cold stare when he summed it up.
"We offer substantial reparations. Channelled via the RFP or a third party, labelled as some fine or whatever means suitable. I need deniability towards my own crowd. Then: A mild verdict, no jail. And in return, I guarantee that I will keep the waves low and we won't get a surge in Holman Hero recruitment numbers, Hessian attacks and all the..." he cleared his throat, "... pardon me for my words... shit we do not need."
Jack finally finished and leaned back, his face relaxed, and he smiled briefly.
"If this ends the evening, I have to say, I enjoyed it," added then even though he couldn't hide the tension and secretly he hoped she would stay and take it into account to do some meddling to get it right.

Laura looked at Jack with a long stare without a single tiny face move and stayed in this position for several seconds. Then sighed and took a pack of cigarettes with a lighter from pocket of her jeans.
"Is smoking allowed hier?" she asked then with neutral voice.
Jack laughed when she did not answer but changes the topic, but it would mean she is not leaving. That would be definitely something.
"I think I paid them enough for not bothering us," he answered and watched her.
"I'd risk it, if I was a smoker. I prefer the sweet sins like...." he looked to the waiter that brought the mousse to the table and the espresso.
"Everybody has their tiny faults, I guess..." added then and took out a lighter, offering her fire.
"Gut," she replied, pulled out a cigarette and let Jack to light it. Then inhaled slowly and after moment exhaled the smoke.

..........................................

"Ja, everybody has their faults. Sometimes tiny, sometimes not so tiny. Anyway, it seems we reached the point of my immediate departure, Herr Henderson. The ice cracked. I warned you strongly, didn´t I? Shame actually, I was looking forward to try the dessert," Laura said and then inhaled and exhaled the smoke again, making little pause.
"I have to leave now. You know, I learned during my life that anyone can hardly earn any respect when he or she breaks their own words. Be it when you don´t fulfil the threats...or when you don´t fulfil promises," she continued talking but also smoking.
"However, I need to finish my cigarette before I go. Thus we have little more time while...I´m leaving already in fact. So, first thing which came to my mind - apart from fact that you want to try to buy the special way out of a trouble like corporations like to do - is that I can´t imagine any way how to make sure Herr Wagner will know that he received reparations from IMG, but he will keep it to himself and won´t use this to taunt your pilots in first encounter you will have after the punishments will be issued," Laura said and inhaled an exhaled smoke again.
"Any ideas?" added briefly and dryly then.
Jack expected nothing else, but all this meeting would have been just talk without substance had he not tried to get to the point.
"I understand your decision, but you have to admit that I have a point in bringing it up," he said and it was likely his way of apologizing.
"Let's look at it like that," added then, thinking about her words for a moment while he dipped the spoon into the thick mousse and took on bite of it.
"What the RFP does with a fine that is paid for a broken law is nothing I can influence. He might try to taunt, but there is deniability on the Guild's side. We paid a fine to the RFP. We can even claim he is lying to provoke. It all depends on how willing the third party is to not name the source of the money and allow me to handle the internals without the word reparations being used - because the payment of reparations has been denied for the reason that paying those to the hunter would incite massive uproar - which again is something that you and me want to avoid," he explained, however realizing that understanding this might be a tricky thing to ask from a police officer.
"So if there would be - just as an example - two options - first with something like fine of ten million, compensation of losses like 30 million and reimbursement like 20 million, and second with compensation of losses like 30 million and fine of 30 million from which 20 million would be then send to Herr Wagner under some cover explanation, the latter is better despite it´s same amount of money?"
"If I get an acceptable sum to pay to a clearly recognisable Rheinland Police or Justice Department account, the Guild is ready to pay. How you label the different parts is none of my concern and I'll be the last one to give you trouble over it. You know how to label the different parts of fines, reparations, compensations etc. I am happy with one sum. A sum that allows me to bury this case. This would include - on Guild side - to keep the pilots that were in violation of the law in the Taus, and not take them on Rheinland flights, and - as I said - every measure that is needed to keep the normal miner mining and minding his own business," he said dryly, and she could realize that in this affair he is not even trying to go for the details on how she would facilitate such a solution.
"And, do you really want to waste the opportunity to have a desert? You might regret it, Direktorin. Come on..." he tried to convince her with a little smile and hoping that the smell of the tripple-chocolate mousse and the strong coffee might do something to change her mind.
"I can´t have dessert when I´m leaving immediately because I warned you I will when certain circumstance come. And I will keep my word. Is that clear?!" Laura replied and it sounded almost hostile.

After another inhale and exhale of the smoke she continued neutrally again.
"But I still probably doesn´t see the difference. If the sentence would be something like "IMG is to pay the fine and reparations to victim in total sum of X million credits", your members would be okay with it suddenly just because it won´t be said openly how big part is the fine and how big part is the reparation for Herr Wagner?"
Jack wanted to roll his eyes, but he kept a neutral face. How can these people do their job when they always stick to their principles? Flexibility, also in the moral aspect, was something that was what had taken him where he was now. But - he also reminded himself - perhaps a straightforward way like hers was better suited for a police officer.
"No, no..." he shook his head, "... the verdict would have to be worded like: The Guild has to pay X million credits. As soon as 'reparations' are mentioned, I reach that barrier that my higher-ups have made very clear they would not want me to cross. There is no problem in the public opinion when a fine is paid for a violation of the law. Reparation... is a no-go. I hope now I've managed to make it clear where the difference is," he smiled thinly, dipping his spoon into the mousse again, visibly enjoying the desert while he watched her.
"Alright then, but using the example I mentioned before - when the verdict will sound like "IMG has to pay 60 million credits", your members won´t feel injustice because of really high sum which Guild must pay?"
"It all depends on the height of the sum. If we are talking, let's assume...” he thought for a moment, “fifty million, it would be justifiable. Fines of twenty million have already been issued for rather harmless acts of vandalism, so fifty for shooting down an enemy of the Guild might not raise many red flags and many questions. By having two offenders, the sum can be sold to the public as justified. When arguing while looking at the potential highest punishment - death penalty or life imprisonment - a sum that might seem rather high, split on two pilots, is something that I can sell to the public," Jack said and seemed confident about his words.

Laura wanted to inhale smoke again, but after checking how much of cigarette is left, she changed her mind.
"Hmm... Speaking about sums - fine and compensation of losses is something what can´t be affected much. But what´s the total sum...in your opinion...which makes a line between justifiable fine and too many red flags raising fine?"
Jack leaned forward again and nodded.
"I did some calculations on the potential worth of the destroyed ship. It is around 20 million, if we assumed it was destroyed completely, which it was not. He cannot mention he had a cloaking device on it, so we are talking 25 million for a 'new' Waran. His was not new. Repairs for the ship will be...a few million. Less than five, likely even lower. So...being extremely generous...ten for his loss. The fine... you know that better. Around 40? I have not taken the time to look through other cases, however I have seen that criminals can buy themselves out of docking restrictions for sums that are far smaller," he summed it up.
"How does fifty sound?" he asked her directly.
Laura raised an eyebrow.
"Cloaking device you say? Can you prove it? Do you have any scans made before the ship was destroyed?"
"Nothing what he cannot deny as 'this is one of my other ships', no. Sadly. If I could, I would have sent you the material long ago," he shook his head.
"He is using this type of equipment on all his ships. But...no, as I said: I can't prove it for exactly this ship, at the exact time of the incident."
Laura shook her head inadvertently.
"Your pilots really didn´t make a single thing to make this easier for them, for you...or for me. I hope you realize that such a scan could change a situation at least partially."
She inhaled and exhaled smoke, approaching the finishing of the cigarette.
"And now you want to make the situation even more difficult for us. There will be lot of eyes watching this case carefully. You know, when something like this happens in front of battleship full of soldiers, information spread quickly. And now, instead of making thing as much transparent as possible and issuing fair punishment to IMG which you could affect by openly offering same amount of money as reparation, you are willing to pay this quite fair sum of money, but only secretly. What may cause that lot of people may be suspicious about our procedures," Laura said, sighed and then rubbed her temples.

Jack laughed when she said that the pilots made every mistake possible.
"I agree there. They... only got one thing right," he said half-joking, with quite a heavy dose of sarcasm and self-irony.
"Anyway, this person is a scum. There is no business in the universe that is lower than killing for money. Killing for emotions. Killing for revenge. Killing to defend. Even killing to conquer. That's all okay. But killing just for money... for an employer he would not spill to you, I bet... No emotion, just killing for someone's credits. He does not earn a credit, nor any mercy. He deserves to be shot like a sick animal," Jack said cooly, as if he was talking about his desert.
"But this is only my personal opinion that does hardly matter here..." he added and took more mousse before he commented on her problems.
"I understand. The decision is entirely yours. In the worst case, the verdict is deemed unacceptable. The pilots will never enter Rheinland jurisdiction again. Perhaps the fine is paid, but no reimbursement. If you can live with this, we can also have everything open. But I do not see the Guild openly paying this murderer money to fund a new ship. You have to understand that, and I have come as far towards you as I possibly can by even offering an underhand solution to the problem, while keeping the peace for us."
"Ja, personal opinions doesn´t matter hier, no matter how much sad it is. Anyway, the fine itself issued by us for breaking the laws wouldn´t be really high, but that´s only because this is so serious that imprisonment is proper punishment. And openly offering reimbursement would help you, or actually your pilots, to get milder punishments like community service, as best option. Because I hope you know polizei only propose the punishments, finally decision is up to judge. And any attempts to make things nonstandard may end badly there. Despite you are actually willing to compensate caused damages," Laura said and looked at the rest of her cigarette in her fingers, thinking about something.
"I am aware of the system, but I know that in every system there are mechanisms that clever persons can use to get an outcome that gets closer to the moral level of justice than to the literal level of justice as it is in the law books. Anyway, you know my opinion. My offer. My limits. It's all laid out, and I know you didn't want to hear it. I apologize for that and I regret ruining a conversation with a fascinating person like you, Polizeidirektorin," he replied and couldn't say anything more, as from his point of view everything has been said. For him, it was the decision of the police, how to present the victim and how much of the 'it was defense' they would actually judged as valid evidence.
"I trust in your ability to make a decision that fits the crime. I have studied a few of the cases that you were on, and this makes me look into the near future comfortably, because now I can be sure that the bigger picture is clear to you," he continued and then leaned back, having finished his dessert. Then emptied the espresso to make it easier for her to leave without making it seem like an insult or a scene.
"More cases where I was on? Interesting. I didn´t know even IMG eyes are on me too," Laura said while finishing smoking. Then looked at Jack silently for few seconds with a strange expression what seemed to be a mixture of exhaustion, contemplation and excellent observer would probably notice even shadow of confused feelings. Then she licked her lips and slipped back in her role.
"I warned you that I will immediately leave if you bring this issue and try to lobby in it. So, I´m doing it. And I´m disappointed by your behaviour, Herr Henderson. You should not expect that your attempt will have any result," she said but it sounded just like an empty phrase, without a tiny trace of any negative feelings. Then she stood up, looked at him again and even pointed finger at him sharply.
"And don´t think even for a second about paying anything for me now. It could be considered as attempt to bribe me," she added and this time it sounded like a real warning.

Jack took the verbal slap calmly, as he slowly seemed to see that a good part of her sharp words now are meant to convince someone - likely herself? Or did she expect any watchers? About that his behaviour was wrong and that the only correct way was to go now. He realized that her staying for the cigarette likely was a pretty big step and would perhaps have conflicted with her resolution to really leave immediately.
"I would not want to anger a women in such an important position," he agreed when he heard her warning.
"And I firmly trust in the legal system and the professionalism of its servicemen and women," added then, stood up and extended his hand, creaging a sharp contrast to her pointed finger gesture.
"Good evening, Ms. Carsten. Even though you will likely not agree, I want you to know that it was a pleasure talking to you and I really regret that this issue is between us. I can only offer my apology again, and hope for the continuation of contact in matters in which more than small things are at stake," he smiled at her openly, hoping she would take the handshake offer and not make it a scene in front of the other guests in restaurant.
Laura retracted pointed finger and then shook his hand shortly.
"It was interesting to meet you and speak with you. But I sincerely hope that if we will meet in person again, it won´t be because of any law violation committed by members of IMG," she said and then moved to the headwaiter who she surprised with request to pay her part of the dinner. After using her credit card she put her jacket on, making short look towards Jack once again. Jack stood there and looked at her. Then she moved out, picked up wachmann Sauber which was on guard near the restaurant and walked quickly back to her apartment.

When Laura left, Jack took his seat again and ordered another glass of wine. He remained in the restaurant, having two more glasses of wine until his PDA vibrateed and he checked his messages.
"Enough for today..." he said to himself and got up, feeling the effect of the wine. He paid the bill, shrugged when he saw the sum that Laura paid from her own salary that would likely be rather meagre. He would at some point pay her back...and make it a challenge to find something that she would actually accept.
With that thought he left the restaurant, put on jacket and later called wife during the shuttle flight.
"Hey, Anna! How is our little one? Ye... I will be coming home tonight. Meeting was short. Yes, in an hour. Yes... You'll still be awake. Good... Yes... See you soon. Love you," he said and ended the call.

Meanwhile in her apartment, where she was alone again, Laura pulled out the tiny voice recorder from the pocket of her jeans and stopped the recording, then removed the secret microphone which was connected to it and was hidden perfectly behind the blue jillie flower in the pocket on the chest. After that she undressed and laid down on the bed, thinking about lot of things until exhaustion caught her again and she fell asleep.

---

On a ragebreak. Or ragequit. Time will tell.