by Tyler Leslie
“Ok Cole, fine. But at least tell me the name of the guy we’re supposed to be watching for.”
Coleman couldn’t keep his mouth from falling open like an out-of-control drawbridge.
“His name is Joseph Burns! Where were you when Davenport was briefing us? Don’t you ever listen?”
“Well, I-”
“-Don’t bother! I already know the answer all too well.” Coleman looked back at Ethan. He was still eating his chips, just more silently this time. Coleman cursed and grabbed the bag of chips from Ethan’s greasy hands. “These are gone, Ethan! You hear me? Never again!” He threw the bag out the window and pointed to the passenger seat. “Get up here, find your binoculars, and help me look!”
Ethan grimaced, but followed the order. He popped open his door, quietly muttering, strode slowly to the passenger-side door, and slotted himself into the passenger seat, looking like nothing less than a reprimanded child.
Coleman sighed. “Ethan, did you bring your binoculars this time? I swear if you left them behind again I’ll-”
Ethan cut Coleman off by pulling out the object in question. “I’ve got em right here, Cole! Let’s go!”
Coleman smiled. “Well, alright then. We’re looking for an Aston Martin. He should be coming over the bridge any minute. Let me know when you see it.”
Within a minute Ethan had found his quarry. “Oh! I see one, Cole! I see one!”
Coleman looked around furtively. “Where? I don’t see it!”
Ethan pointed out his window. “Right there next to us!”
Coleman viciously slapped Ethan on the back of the head. “Idiot! He’s going to be coming in off the bridge! Not parked beside us!”
“Oh…”
Coleman didn’t know if he could take it anymore. The second this job is over, I swear I’m asking for a new partner!
A few seconds went by, then Ethan practically yelled at the top of his lungs. “Cole! There it is!”
Coleman prepared himself for more idiocy, but after stealing a quick glance through the binoculars, caught the object of Ethan’s exclamation. It actually was the car they were looking for!
“Ha! You’re right, Ethan! Let’s get that car wired up!”
By the time the recording had finished playing, Prince Davenport was in a rage. What a pair of fools! They had nearly destroyed his entire operation, an action that would surely have landed both himself and Godfrey on death row. He had hired them against his better judgment—a decision based entirely on the recommendation of another. This was the last time he would consider the counsel of someone other than himself.
He stood, fists clenched in anticipation. It was time to right yet another wrong…
CHAPTER 19
Lieutenant Regina Tavish stood, arms crossed, in the middle of the training compound’s Great Hall. The Great Hall was a meeting place for soldiers and officers alike, something like a military courthouse. Heavily weighted decisions were made here, and lives were either spared or destroyed within the confines of the cold stone building. Now, it was Regina’s turn to find herself wishing she was dead.
Commander Pikes stood before her, as emotionless as always. His lifeless eyes scoured her weathered face, searching for any sort of response from her. The lieutenant had just been given an order to lead the search for the soldiers that had gone missing in Australia, and she was not at all happy. At least, that’s what Commander Pikes assumed. Her face was completely devoid of emotion. She was a stone wall. He decided to speak up again, “Lieutenant, I suspect you have some kind of retort to offer me? Some kind of pithy comeback or witty put-down? It isn’t like you to keep silent when given an unfavorable order.”
Instead of giving the base commander what he wanted, Regina turned to the assembled group of soldiers and addressed them. “This group of Cadets that has gone missing is little more than a liability as this point. It is my duty to retrieve them, one way or another. If they have been killed by the enemy before we reach them, then we can only hope they did what they were trained to do and kept their mouths shut.
If they are still alive when we find them, then every single one of them is going back to training, for they obviously learned nothing from their time here. To be captured is to be dishonored. Let’s go get our men.”