7

In 2019 the world was rocked by the second great depression. This one was much worse than the one in 1929 when the American president at the time said he saw one third of americans, ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. In 2021, over 50 percent of Americans were jobless and homeless. For a few years, the government of the united states and other world leaders put trillions into the world market in the form of bailouts trying to jump start the economy. All efforts ended in failure and by 2030 when the unemployment surpassed seventy five percent, they realized they had to try something new. But they didn’t know what to do. But, there were some who did have a plan. Later in 2032, the top businesses and corporations banded together, had a big meeting and came up with a plan and proposed it to their governments of the world. The plan was that the governments cede entire economic control and limited civil authority, to them and they would take the world out of the second great depression.

On the Map the old river Dee is the dotted line between Chester in England and Flint in Wales.

More skirmishes with the Vikings ensue and Gisela wins her spurs. The Siege of Chester is relieved by Drustina's small victory on the banks of the River Dee (Afon Dyfrdwy.). Further plans and preparations ensue as Drustina prepares for the forthcoming battle.

Readers are advised to brush up their Geography of the two estuaries River Dee and River Mersey.

Dan reddened a little. "Honestly, I thought this would be open-and-shut:
I'd ask you if we could go save Dexie, and you'd say yes.
I mean, you did like this girl, didn't you?"

5

The first gathering of the three- figuratively- Empresses quickly degrades into a trap for Alex, her sisters, and the Admiral. After a hasty retreat, Alex and what is left of her original travel party must regroup and plan the liberation of Kili Island carefully. Relatively, can the present save the past in the future?

A NOTE REGARDING THIS STORY.

This is a fictional chronicle of a normal hardworking guy named Jack. The federal government made him an offer he couldn't refuse. All they asked was for Jack to go undercover to help the U.S. Government ensnare a terrorist.

Any resemblance of the characters depicted in the story to actual individuals is coincidental. All events are the sole responsibility of the author. None of the scenes in this story depict minors engaged in any sexual encounter.

This story has been previously posted on other sites. It is being posted here with a strong rewrite; some new chapters have been added. I had my BFF Monica Rose edit the material so it should be more readable. Marina

Marina: [email protected]

In which...wishing to avoid a dull visit to her grandmother, Lady Ann Neville takes drastic steps; giving her a holiday from herself and getting a little too much information on how the lower orders live.

Chapter One

Lady & Servant

1

England 1908.

It seemed to Burt that his life was always spent with his face pressed against the glass.

He worshipped Lady Ann Neville more than he did god in church, but Burt was only the stable hand at her father's vast estate, Griply Hall. His job was to muck out and groom the horses and perform manual labour around the estate. He was forbidden even from entering the manor house. He scraped an existence in the reflected light from this affluent and powerful family but he could never be one of them.

Still, he had his dreams – dreams that one day she would smile at him and say that - no it was too stupid for words. The distance between them was greater than it was to China. He might as well howl at the moon like a dumb animal. Lady Ann had hardly noticed him while they were growing up. Why would she notice him now? He was dirty and coarse; a big hairy man who couldn’t even talk in a gentile way. She would never consider him as a friend, let alone a husband. He had no money, no education and no prospects. He could barely read or write. He had no proper manners and didn’t know the first thing about how to be a gentleman.