After the War: Military Dystopian Thriller (Friends of my Enemy Book 2)

by Autumn M. Birt

  “You know I served in the Guard,” Derrick said, certain she did. Certain that the lack of important conversations she’d hinted about had a lot to do with what he’d never said.

  “Yes,” Arinna replied, pausing. She sipped from the wine glass in her hand. Finally, her gaze left the countryside beyond the gardens and met his with a frank stare. “Captain Vries speaks highly of you. I just don’t know why you chose to hide your service from me.”

  Derrick took a deep breath, holding it as he searched for an answer. “I really don’t know,” he said and laughed. To his surprise, he saw Arinna glance at him with an amused smile. She looked away with a shake of her head.

  “I have yet to figure you out.”

  “That makes two of us,” Derrick replied.

  “You know about MOTHER and covered when I nearly spoke of them to Byran.”

  “Why do you think I gave up on politics?” Derrick said. “I know my father and his cohorts really run everything ... except the Guard. What is the point of pretending to be doing something of importance?”

  “But from what Jared said, you left the Guard for parliament. If you saw the one was a farce, why did you walk away from the Guard as well? Jared, Captain Vries,” Arinna corrected, “was not certain you were the same Earl of Kesmere that had fought with him in the war. I think he was almost disappointed that you are.”

  There was a question in her tone though she didn’t outright ask it. That she didn’t trust him considering the murkiness of why he’d abandoned both parliament and the Guard was understandable. But that Jared had thought him dead rather than turn his back on the Guard hurt.

  “I don’t know why I didn’t come back,” Derrick said, the words bursting from him before he could think. “I’ve spent the last three weeks since Byran left wondering that while avoiding Corianne. I was injured, and my father and le Marc dragged me into parliament. I did that for over three years, but when the bases were attacked toward the end of the war, I fought unofficially under Lieutenant Averys. I almost rejoined. But I learned there what my father was up to, and that MOTHER was still in control of the government. The war was almost over. I should have seen the fighting out, then I’d call myself a soldier. But I didn’t. I was so disillusioned that I gave up on everything and came here. It is the only thing my father has no part of. He cannot tell me what to do when I am here.”

  Arinna watched him with unwavering eyes, judging what he said. She nodded. “You would have had a place if you’d come back.”

  That left him shakier than his spontaneous confession. He leaned against a stone bench that overlooked a reflecting pool. “My father hates you, you know that? More than I’ve known him to hate anyone. It’s taken me years, and maybe Bryan, to make me realize that hatred is his and not mine.”

  “The feeling between your father and I is mutual,” she said with a frown. She glanced at him, pausing with her glass partway to her lips. Instead of sipping from it, she handed it to Derrick. “You look like you need it more than I.”

  Derrick snorted but didn’t argue. He drained it in one shot. “I haven’t even told Byran this. I can’t. I don’t want to tell him what a waste of time parliament is. He really believes in what he does.”

  “I ... understand that,” she said, blinking away a few tears. “We both protect him in our way.”

  “Just because Byran is gone, doesn’t mean we can’t spend time in each other’s company,” Derrick said, surprising himself with the offer.

  Arinna refused to glance at him though she lost her battle to suppress a smile with every passing second. “You really need protection from Corianne that badly?” she finally asked.

  Derrick coughed on his laugh. “Yes,” he replied. “Yes, I do.”

  They started again with morning rides, meeting on the woodland trail where their estates bordered. It was awkward without Byran to initiate the conversation. Actually, Derrick was trying to avoid mentioning Byran. So after telling Arinna a little about the history of Kesmere and the changes he’d seen during the four years he lived at the estate, he struggled to find another topic. So he jumped into what he was really interested in.

  “So what did you find in the Americas?” he asked Arinna as they rode slowly side by side along a low ridge that offered sweeping views of the lakes and lowering skies.

  “Is that the reason for the invitation?” she asked. Her tone was serious, but when Derrick glanced at her he saw she wore a smirk.

  “Admit it, you wanted to get out of Rhiol as much as I did Kesmere.”

  “I haven’t been home, remember? Maybe I wanted to spend the time ensconced behind thick stone walls rather than be tramping about the hills and potentially getting rained on by the look of things.”

  Derrick laughed. “Then why did you agree to come?”

  “You are decidedly more difficult than Byran,” Arinna replied without answering his question.

  “You should have seen us when we were teenagers,” Derrick replied.

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Derrick ignored her dry remark. “I would hope you think me at least slightly trustworthy. And not simply because I was in the Guard, even if I didn’t tell you. I know more about the government, and what is really going on, than anyone else in the county. And I’ve never told, not even Byran. So unless you are going to watch me all day, every day, you will have to trust me a little.”

  “Is that a challenge?” Arinna asked, her smile a little wicked.

  Derrick chuckled. “I hope not! I suppose if you won’t tell me, I’ll have to check in on Bryan’s networks to see what I can learn.”

  “Hah, don’t discount Byran or his resources. I learned from him, and he still surprises me. Look at the recent rumor of a coup that I’m supposed to be staging.” Arinna paused after she said that, falling into silence.

  “Well, I should check on him,” he said into her quiet. “It would be interesting to see what contacts I can get from him,” Derrick added, realizing asking about what Arinna was up to was probably not the conversation he wanted to be having with his friend. He was going to need to build a network of his own.

  “Now that would be an interesting challenge you might like. See what you can find out and let me know. I would be interested to hear it,” Arinna said.

  “It will only be interesting if you tell me if I am right,” he pointed out.

  “Very well. But I’ll only tell you if you are exactly right. Not close. And you cannot ask your father.”

  “Like I would?” Derrick said, excited and annoyed at the same moment.

  “It needed to be said,” Arinna said, her tone more consoling than the words. “At least now you’ll have something to do in that manor of yours.”

  She was correct. He was almost looking forward to heading back.

  It took him a few days to scrape together any resources. None of which was thanks to Byran. He couldn’t locate his friend, which left Derrick cobbling together old contacts from when he was active in parliament or when he’d served in the Guard. Slowly, reports and leads trickled in. No solid information, but he had hopes to learn more.

  Though they saw each other to ride together twice during that time, Derrick did not bring up his research only to say he hadn’t managed to track down Byran. At the news, Arinna looked thoughtful.

  “I suppose it wouldn’t help any rumor already floating around if I had the Guard track him down,” she said finally.

  Derrick snorted. “I’m not going to answer that.” They left it at that.

  A week after her challenge, he met her at a soiree. “You look lovely this evening, my lady,” he said when he joined her.

  “I haven’t seen Corianne yet if that is what you were wondering,” she replied as he took her offered hand.

  “Thank you for the information, but I’d actually come over because I remember you are a wonderful dancer and hoped you would allow me the pleasure?”

  She laughed. “In that case, it is very good to see you again, my lord earl.�
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  They did dance, talking in between as they socialized. Her wit was sharp and subtle, engaging his attention so that he forgot for a bit his worry over not hearing from Byran. When Corianne arrived along with her cousin, Arinna did her part to keep him occupied physically as well, dancing with him or introducing him to former soldiers and visiting members of parliament that he didn’t know. Every time she took his elbow and turned him suddenly, he had to suppress laughter, knowing what it was she was up to.

  “I should have asked to escort you since we are spending this much time together,” he teased when they finally found themselves alone.

  “I dare say that alone might put Corianne off. It wouldn’t be half as much fun,” she replied, eyes shining. “So have you learned anything?”

  He didn’t need to ask to what she was referring. “A bit. Nothing I’m ready to share. Other than I know you were in the Americas.”

  “Is that your gut or fact?” she asked.

  “Both,” he answered, waiting. “Well?”

  “Correct,” she finally relented. “But I won’t tell you where or doing what unless you figure it out.”

  “I’m only just building my sources. I’m sure I’ll find out. Actually, I’m surprised that you want me to do this. Unless you are just trying to distract me from wondering where Byran is. Have you learned anything?”

  She blushed faintly. “He’s on the continent, but not home. I believe he and his family are spending some time together visiting friends across Spain.”

  “And when were you going to tell me?” he asked, exasperated.

  “I only just learned. Jared tracked him down without me asking, actually. And no, that isn’t why I challenged you to this. It is a good test of the Guard and my security. I want to know if there are leaks.”

  He regarded her a moment, the laughter of the evening fading. “You are worried about a spy.”

  She met his gaze, sober as well. “I’m worried about a lot of things.”

  Chapter 19

  SECRETARY DAVID ELDRIDGE

  DOUBLE PLAY

  “I’m surprised you brought me these,” David said to Captain Vries as he looked at the folder of photos and reports that Jared had handed to him.

  “There was a ... need for the Lady Grey to return to northern England. Hopefully, you do not mind if I take over the reporting to MOTHER for a brief period?” Jared asked.

  “Of course not,” David said, turning the desire to grit his teeth into a smile.

  David had worked with Arinna for over ten years. He could read her, at least her moods, such as when she was being serious. Captain Vries refused to even sit down. He stood with hands behind his back on the other side of David’s desk. David wasn’t sure if he was supposed to interrogate the Captain on what the report contained or dismiss him. Casual discussion didn’t feel like an option.

  “I hope she sorts out whatever is at issue and returns soon. What is at issue? Is that included in the report?”

  “No, Secretary, it is not. And I am not at liberty to say.”

  David was getting nowhere with this man. “I’m surprised you were gone so long, and that it took you this amount of time to bring a report to me,” David said. “I thought I had heard you returned four days ago?”

  “We were in quarantine. After that, it took some time to finish putting the report together,” Jared stated. “And I did need to check in on our forces in Asia.”

  David felt his heart stop. “Quarantine?” he asked through a dry mouth.

  “It’s in the report. You should read it, and I will answer any questions you have once you do,” Jared told him. “Is Secretary Gerschtein in her office today?”

  “Probably not. We don’t meet until tomorrow. Why?” David snapped, rubbing his fingers over his eyes. “And Arinna usually provides me a verbal synopsis of the report.”

  “I have another meeting. Contact Command if you need to find me. Good day.” Captain Vries turned on his heel and left.

  David let out an irritated breath, relieved to be alone. Jared’s mention of Gerschtein and another meeting connected in David’s mind as he picked up the first page of the report. When he read what was on it, he forgot everything else but the papers in front of him.

  He called MOTHER together that evening, demanding a meeting despite complaints of ruined plans.

  “Well, get on with it,” Sabana said as Gilles arrived at last, filling the seventh chair.

  “You have the report from the mission to the Americas?” Miralda asked. Renault cast a lingering glance at her, which knocked some of the smugness from her expression.

  “We don’t have time for these games. Not tonight,” David snapped.

  “Is the report that horrifying? Did they stumble into an army of FLF?” Piero asked.

  “Perhaps,” David answered, clipping the word in contrast to Piero’s languid tone. Jared might have rubbed off on David after all.

  Silence fell across the small gathering. Miralda grimaced as she reached for the folder sitting in front of David.

  “I’ve been wondering about the delay in getting this to us. You know my concerns regarding Ms. Prescot and her treatment of us,” Miralda said.

  “Yes, I’m sure you’ve been concerned,” David said.

  Miralda’s quick glance at him and away before meeting his eyes told David that there were more problems than the documents Captain Vries had delivered. He’d deal with Miralda later.

  “Are you going to tell us what this says or are we supposed to read it one at a time?” Gilles asked, eyeing Miralda where she leafed through the paperwork. Sabana and Piero looked over her shoulders.

  “Or is Ms. Prescot expected?” Renault asked. Miralda snorted.

  David barely kept himself from tossing something at the woman. A wave of tiredness and age ran over him. He should have waited until morning to tackle this. Dissension was not really that big a surprise, not the way MOTHER had been going of late. It was what Renault and he had discussed a month before. In that time, he’d done little. He couldn’t fault Miralda for having done more.

  “She is not. Captain Vries can respond to any questions. I wanted to make you aware of the findings.”

  “Which are?” Ilse asked.

  “Refugees, work camps, coming under attack by a force that may or may not be FLF, and then tracking the report of their arrival to a secure bunker in what was once Texas. Where would you like to start? Miralda, you must learn to share,” David said, taking the report from her hands so that he could spread the aerial photos across the table.

  Jared had marked each photo with a brief legend that David read as he slid them onto the table. Images of denuded jungles, debris choked streams, and work camps with bountiful fields but containing workers who looked half starved dropped from his hands one by one.

  The worst to him were the photos of ore extraction. There the workers appeared dusty skeletons, working deep in hot open mines. At least the workers near crop fields might have been able to sneak an overripe vegetable. Gold or iron were not edible. Then there were the pictures of dark openings with no signs of shelter or people on the surface. David wondered if the workers there ever got to leave.

  “This is the town where the Guard were attacked,” David said. “In the fallout, two Guard soldiers were killed and another wounded before backup arrived from Europe.”

  “It looks like a rather normal town,” Piero said.

  “That is what the report indicated and why it was approached. Do you see the small mounds in the photos?” David asked, pointing to the shadowed lumps that Jared’s narrative had indicated they’d seen only after searching the area.

  “Entryways to an underground facility,” Renault guessed. “What is down there, do they know?”

  “No, Ms. Prescot would not risk attacking something so well protected with the small force she had at such a distance from support,” David answered.

  “Wise,” Ilse replied.

  “Wise would have not been falling under at
tack and losing two soldiers in the first place,” Sabana snapped.

  “I think Ms. Prescot would agree with you there. Captain Vries indicated that she was very disappointed that he had not noticed the underground facility before going in,” David replied.

  Miralda tapped her pen against a picture at that. She looked neither pleased nor disappointed. Now David was annoyed that whatever game Arinna and Jared were playing, they hadn’t bothered to clue him in.

  “You said there was a base in former Texas?” Renault asked, pulling David’s attention back to the remaining photos in his hand.

  “They tracked a messenger carrying a report of the attack involving them north through the desert,” David said, dropping a few photos of a dusty, but well-worn road that wove through the empty Mexican countryside.

  An old military Humvee drove across the expanse, passing two convoys of trucks hauling five or six trailers each. The final photos were of a long fence hung with radioactive signs. One metal door set behind a double gate broke the line of chain fence where it marred the face of a scrub-laden hill. The last photo was of the Humvee disappearing into the dark opening behind the metal door.

  “Vehicles ... so whoever they are, they have a way of making fuel,” Gilles said, picking up the photo of the truck convoy.

  “What is down there?” Piero asked, peering at the final photo as if pulling it to his nose would make the details in the dark recess swallowing the vehicle clearer.

  “They don’t know,” David said. “The radioactive sensors were off the charts.”

  “All that equipment, those goods, have to be going somewhere!” Sabana said. “And most likely not to some underground military warren. She has to return and find out what is down there.”

  “She refuses to go back,” David said.

  “Why? Order her to, or we will send Captain Vries!” Miralda demanded.

  “No,” Eldridge said, crossing his arms before his chest. He hoped it looked angry, but in reality it was because he needed the tight comfort. “Arinna said there are indications of another disease outbreak. HALO may have mutated. Until we know, it isn’t safe for anyone to return to the Americas.”