Cherry Blossom Snow

Heist Plan

On the anniversary of the first meeting, Mia arranged another. As she walked into the Red Lion, she found her comrades already present. Alice and Hendrika just went about their work as usual. Dalziel, with a determined expression, leaned against the counter, his arms folded in front of him. Caoimhe sat gracefully on the floor, her legs crossed, emanating a calm aura. Devara leaned back in a chair, feet casually resting on a table, exuding an air of nonchalance. Meanwhile, Susan sat at the same table, her legs crossed, leisurely sipping on a cup of tea.

"Welcome!" Mia announced. "My plan is that we'll be going after the Royal Family. Of course, we'll be needing to be cautious. That's why we'll be going for less infiltration in favor of a good, old-fashioned, hit-and-run approach."

"Still seems awfully risky," said Caoimhe.

"My mother did a fine job at it," said Dalziel. "Granted, they were mostly minor members of the family, but still, we can do it, too. And we can finish the job."

"Well, I don't know about finishing. I mean, you're part of the family, and so is Mia's friend."

"Fortunately, there aren't too many of those Princes, Princesses, Dukes, and Duchesses left, and they mostly reside in relatively few locations," said Mia. "We strike the Royal households, and we strike hard. The Royals themselves are the main targets, of course, but their castles and palaces also serve as symbols of their status. Obviously, these are Royal households we'll be attacking, and they have tight security. These operations will take time to plan. We'll not be rushing."

"So," said Devara, "how are we going to do this?"

"The same way we do everything," Mia proclaimed confidently. "We bomb the hell out of them."

"That's not a real plan and you know it."

"It was the extent of my strategy, and it worked out pretty well for a while," Alice commented.

"Seriously?"

"I'm no military strategist; I'm just skilled with a gun and charismatic enough to rally people to the cause."

"And now you run a pub," said Susan. "That's putting your skills to use."

"Well, it's a different set of skills. I'm also a good cook, and so is Hendrika."

"But you're letting your leadership and combat skills go to waste."

"My combat skills are still useful for defense. And I'm putting what leadership skills I have to use throwing ideas at all of you."

"Do you by any chance still have contact with any of your old comrades?" asked Mia.

"A few," said Alice. "The British rounded up most of the Nigerian People's Liberation Army and executed them. Few survived, and fewer still want anything more to do with me. Why?"

"Do you think you'd be able to rally them to the cause again? Sooner or later, the people will rise up again. That's inevitable. I just hope we can accelerate the process."

"It's possible. I just wouldn't count on it. I'll see what I can do. But really, most of the few who even know that I survived resent me. Because I abandoned them. And I have to live with that knowledge," Alice admitted, a hint of regret in her voice.

"Now, on to the real reason I called all of you here today," Mia nervously declared. "'Tis becoming increasingly difficult to cover costs. I've been sinking my personal wealth into this just to keep it going."

"How are you doing on that?"

"Almost completely broke," Mia confessed, feeling vulnerable.

"I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money," said Dalziel, trying to be understanding. "But how is that even possible?"