by Siegel, Alex
Ethel and Guthrum walked off.
Aaron watched her go. Every time he believed he finally understood her, she managed to surprise him. There was a reason she was the legatus legionis.
He grabbed Marina and gave her a second kiss. He knew he might not get another for a while, so he made this one last a good long time. She was happy to oblige him. Hanley and Smythe didn't interrupt the moment.
Finally, Aaron and Marina separated.
"As soon as you get settled," he said softly, "I'll ship all your stuff to you. Just tell me where to send it."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"And if you need any advice or technical support, I'm always available to you. Rebuilding your team and your headquarters will be tough. I'll do everything I can from here to make it easier."
"I know." She hugged him. "But let me struggle on my own for a little while. I want to see what I can do without your help."
"Of course. I'll let you call me first."
She sniffled. "You're the best." She gave him one more kiss. Then she turned to Hanley and said, "Come on. Let's buy some plane tickets."
"But we don't have any luggage, ma'am," he said. "We're both a mess."
"You have your phone and the credit cards Norbert gave you?"
"Yes, ma'am. I have my wallet."
"Then we'll buy what we need as we go," she said. "It will be a fresh start. Isn't it exciting?"
The two of them left together.
Aaron turned to Smythe. The second in command had a big, sloppy grin on his face.
"Why are you so damned happy?" Aaron said.
"The legate gave me permission to see Odelia."
"Not quite. Our love lives are still a major problem for her. She's willing to ignore the issue as long as we don't make it an issue. She trusts us to handle a messy situation responsibly. I won't betray that trust. Neither will you. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir." Smythe nodded. "Very."
Aaron slapped him on the shoulder. "Let's go home, finally. Tomorrow morning we'll get started on our next project."
"Which is?"
"Recruitment! We have space on our team for two more legionnaires. I'd like them to be women if possible to balance things out. It's going to take a long time to find the right candidates. And when we find them, it's going to take even longer to train them. We'll see how good a teacher you are. I bet you thought being my right hand man was going to be light work."
"No, sir," Smythe said. "I never thought that."
THE END
Table of Contents
Title
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four