Sophie had a car waiting for them when the train reached its stop in Malta. Bettina didn't try to escape or call for help. She was in a town where she knew no one and where guns seemed to be part of the casual dress code. As they walked to the car, Sophie smiled and greeted almost everyone, while Bettina took notice of how many of the locals that Sophie greeted actually carried weapons. It was a very high percentage. If she felt any astonishment at the number of weapons, she didn't let it show. She kept her gaze neutral and said nothing outside of some general pleasantries. It was so easy for a woman to disappear in the countryside, and she didn't for a second suspect that she might be any different.
Sophie drove, keeping the gun trained on Bettina. The drive was silent but short. The farm wasn't too far outside the town limits. The farmhouse itself was unremarkable and looked as though it had seen better days. The porch sagged, and there were missing shingles. It had a tired look, as though it too had given up. It was a hard and unforgiving life out in the country, but the unemployed here seemed to be better fed than they were in New York City. The thought of where her life could have ended up had her mother's refugee status been assigned to a small town like Malta, instead of New York City, sent a shiver down her spine. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Life was too short to spend the present looking back and wondering what-if or what-might-have-been.
Sophie moved her along, pushing her towards the house and Bettina acquiesced, there was no point fighting it at this point. Sophie hadn't killed her yet and had kept her promise to take her to the farmhouse, so it was still possible that she might get out of this alive. Her treatment so far had provided her enough reason to believe that Ashama was connected in some manner to the shipping manifests. She just hoped she stayed alive long enough to find out how.
Sophie gave a short knock at the door and a woman answered quickly. The woman on the other side of the door had James Holden's hair, eyes, and a misplaced command of authority. Bettina surmised it must be Holden's other mother, Elise. If she was surprised to see them, she didn't let on and hustled them into the kitchen and off the porch.
"Did anyone see you?", she asked Sophie, as she shut the door behind them.
Sophie kept walking as she answered. "Only everyone in town."
Sophie shoved Bettina into an oversized armchair in the living room, and with a sharp look, she shrugged off her cardigan, keeping her pistol fully visible. It was an antique Colt 380 Mustang, with a wooden stock. Bettina was impressed with the style that Sophie rocked.
"The plan was to be discreet", said Elise, clearly annoyed. She sat across from Bettina and kept her eyes locked on hers.
"I changed the plan when this genius sat next to me. She says her name is Bettina. Started asking loads of questions about James.", said Sophie.
Elise nodded her head. "There is a Bettina that works for Avasarala. I'll have to dig up a picture." She held a hand towards Bettina. "Give me your ID."
Bettina moved slightly to open her purse and both women started. Bettina raised her hands in surrender, not wanting to get accidentally shot.
"Just hand over the purse", said Sophie in annoyance. She grabbed it roughly and dumped the contents onto a side table. Bettina cringed inside, as the contents of her life were so rudely turned upside down. Sophie rustled through the items until she located the wallet, and then pulled out the contents, throwing cards aside until she reached the plastic ID card. Sophie raised an eyebrow and gave Bettina a weary look.
"Don't they bother to train you at all?", she asked, with disgust. "Spycraft 101. Don't carry your real ID." She handed Elise the ID, who studied it more thoroughly.
Bettina shrugged, "Unless I'm not the real Bettina."
Sophie sighed, "We'll know soon enough."
Elise studied the ID card, "I can get this resolved in a matter of minutes. I'll be right back." She left the room abruptly, and Bettina was left alone again with her original captor, Sophie. She let her eyes travel over the living room. Now that she was inside, she could clearly see that the inside was routinely given more care and attention than the outside. The living room was freshly cleaned, smelled of fresh-baked bread, and had a cozy rather than tired feel to it. Her stomach grumbled and she longed for a piece of that bread, not having had breakfast on account of getting kidnapped and all. She spotted a photo of a young James, surrounded by a large group of adults. He looked to be eighteen or nineteen in the photo, but in the past decade, he really hadn't changed much. Even at that age, he still looked so much like the man whose face had appeared over everyone's vid-screens, accusing Mars of starting a war with the belt and Earth.
"That's the last photo we have of everyone together", said Sophie, a touch of nostalgia in her voice.
Bettina picked up the photo to inspect it closely. "He hasn't changed much", Bettina replied, studying the photo. There were photos in his file, at this age, but his face usually had a determined or angry countenance. All the photos she'd seen of him were surveillance photos, at rallies and protests. "He looks so happy and carefree. I've never seen him so relaxed. If I didn't know better, I'd say he looks almost happy."
Sophie narrowed her eyes, "You can drop the charade of actually knowing him."
Bettina shrugged, "I may never have met him, but I've done my research and I've seen enough photos. I know well enough why he left - and never came back. There's not much here in Malta for anyone who has a bit of ambition, is there?"
Sophie glared back. The room was silent until Elise returned.
"There isn't much on her, but I was able to find an old article. It's definitely her in the picture next to Avarsarala."
Sophie took the terminal and glanced between it and Bettina. "The likeness is remarkable if it isn't her."
"Hopefully you're ready to talk.", said Elise, taking her seat across from Bettina, once again.
Bettina shrugged, "What's in it for me?"
Sophie brandished the gun, but Elise put up a hand. "We don't want to hurt anyone. We just want to ask a few questions. Answer them willingly and we'll deposit you back at the bus terminal when we're done."
"I came looking for answers, so it's possible I only have the same questions - and none of the answers you're looking for.", said Bettina. She casually crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. If they wanted to make her sweat, she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction.
"We'll start with our questions", said Sophie, her voice tight.
Elise took a deep breath and then leaned back in her chair. "What does Avasarala want? James was fully pardoned. There's no need for her to come back digging around our small patch of earth for more dirt on him."
Bettina took a long breath and weighed her options. She could make up a story about what Avasarala was looking for, but these women seemed shrewd enough to pick up on any lies she might concoct.
"Alright, I'll be honest. We really don't care about James. He's inconsequential.", said Bettina "Though both Avasarala and I thought it was interesting that a woman's name landed on her desk, that's from the same small town he is. What are the chances that a tiny little place like Malta would produce so many interesting people that keep leading her back here." Bettina kept her eyes trained on Elise who seemed to be the brains of the operation. Bettina thought Elise might have been able to give even the most shrewd political minds at the United Nations a run for their money.
Both Elise and Sophie kept their gazes neutral and said nothing, so Bettina continued. "I don't have much to give you, unfortunately. The person I'm curious about has been missing for three months already, so there's little hope she's still alive. Still, I have to cross my t's and dot my i's. So here I am. In your living room." She paused for a moment, then said. "A cup of tea and some of that bread would be nice."
"Give us a real answer and we'll consider it", said Sophie.
"Very well," said Bettina, crossing her arms, "the woman I'm tracking is named Ashma Verandi. She disappeared without a trace three months ago." She scrutinized the women's faces as she said the name and was rewarded with the smallest of facial ticks from Sophie.
"That name seemed to strike a chord. So you knew her then?", asked Bettina.
"We're asking the questions", said Sophie, her voice rough with emotion.
Elise looked away. "It's a small town, everyone knows everyone."
"Are you sure it isn't more than that?"
"As you said, she's been gone for three months. Most people have moved on.", said Elise.
"Most people? Have you? Or have other people been looking for her too?", asked Bettina, her interest piqued on who else might have been looking for the missing woman. If she had any connection to the shipping manifests then there was a chance that the people looking for her could be a clue. And if Ashma was indeed still alive, Bettina needed to get to her before anyone else did.
Elise shook her head, "Did you ever stop to wonder why that name landed on Avasarala's desk? And who may have made that happen?"
"Our office isn't missing persons, so of course, Avasarala was curious. She wanted to know who the woman was but there's very little about her online - so here I am trying to find the answer to that question."
"Well, your not much use to us then, are you?", asked Sophie, breaking back into the conversation.
Bettina took a moment to look both women up and down. They'd given away very little so far, and what they did say made her even more curious. She tried another tactic. "I do know she wasn't being treated well by her husband, that much was evident from her photos. And that there had to be a connection to the great James Holden. So I started there. Considering who kidnapped me from the bus and held me at gunpoint, I'd say that something I'm doing has struck a nerve."
Elise gave a surprised laugh. "Maybe you're not as daft as you seem."
Bettina shrugged. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"It's still less than we'd hoped for, though", said Sophie snidely.
"What is it that you do for Chrisjen Avarasala, exactly?" asked Elise, scrutinizing Bettina more closely now.
"Consider me her ghost", said Bettina. "I go digging for answers and if Avarasala likes those answers, then it's something she initiated. If she doesn't like them, then I was never here."
Elise nodded her head, then stood abruptly and walked to the window, her back to Bettina. She stared out the window for a moment before speaking. "I knew Ashma well. I felt sorry for her while she was here. And, as you seem to know, her husband wasn't just mean to her, he was a downright animal."
"Oh?", asked Bettina. "Any chance I could talk to him then?"
Sophie chuckled, "Oh, you'd literally have to go digging to -"
Elise cut Sophie off before she could continue. "Rick had connections, so no matter how he treated her, nothing ever came back to him. But poor Ashma, she wasn't even someone's daughter in the end. Her parents abandoned her and left her to rot away into obscurity. They sold her off to the highest bidder and then left town. Poor thing never had a chance."
Bettina took a moment to take in what Elise had said. "Rick had connections? What do you mean by had?"
"Three months ago Rick died. Around the same time that Ashma disappeared.", said Sophie. "I'm amazed you didn't pick up on that in her file."
"Ashma hadn't been registered as being married.", said Bettina, defensively. "So there wasn't anything in her file about that. But how did Rick die?" Bettina was starting to feel like her chances at survival may be lower than she had previously calculated. The number of people these women knew who seemed to be dead or disappeared was at an alarmingly high number.
"Accident", said Sophie with a shrug. "But the local gossips kept saying that Ashma had a hand in it. Poor thing, I think she got scared and ran."
"But they were married? Just not registered? That seems", she paused to find the right word. "odd?"
"It happens. Some men take multiple wives. Some they find willing, others they" Elise shrugged "buy."
Bettina was horrified. She'd rather be destitute in the city than purchased as a wife.
"Did you help her run?", asked Bettina.
Elise gave a shrill laugh, "No. But if I had known what she had planned, I would have."
Bettina tried to put the information together, but nothing seemed to be making sense. "Why? What was so special about her?"
Sophie stood up and paced the living room, "Why? Because we were part of the reason she ended up in her terrible situation, rotting away into non-existence. She was engaged to James once. They would have been a lovely couple. And then he left. And without James her parents abandoned her, leaving her to rot in this town. Their true colors came out immediately. And to think, we almost had them join our collective." Sophie stopped talking and a shudder ran through her body. She buried her head in her hands.
Elise continued in Sophie's silence, "But Ashma was a good person and deserved better. We tried to help her as best we could. And yes, we would have helped her run if she'd asked. But she's gone and it's been three months and no one is looking anymore. So I need you and Avasarala to find her."
"And why would we do that?", asked Bettina, "As I said, we're not missing persons and the Earth is a very big place to find one insignificant woman."
"Oh, I have one good reason for that", said Elise, a smile curving across her face. She called something up on her vid-screen and flashed it at Bettina. Bettina's blood ran cold as she stared at the screen. "And that's because I know more about something than Avasarala does. Do these look familiar? I have more."
Bettina's pulse quickened. "How?" she uttered. She didn't understand how, but somehow this petite woman in the country had managed to dig up more information about the missing weapons shipments than she'd been able to find with all the access to the UN data stores.
"I see we have your attention.", said Sophie. "Whose insignificant now?"
Bettina nodded, "Those may have been of particular interest to Avasarala."
"It turns out that Ashama's deadbeat husband isn't the only one with connections", said Elise. "You find Ashma, we'll give you everything we have on the shipments."
"I'll talk to Avasarala. I'm sure she'll agree that looking for Ashma is a good use of resources. Do you have any ideas where I can start looking?" said Bettina.
Sophie looked away and Elise sat down before answering. "That's why we needed Avasarala's help. The trails run cold."
Bettina felt her stomach sink. Finding one woman hiding on Earth would have been hard, but with no leads, it was going to be downright impossible. And finding that woman still alive - well all bets were off. It looked as though the shipping manifests were still outside of her grasp.