by Sam Schall
Lt. Liu sat in a chair to the right of the desk. Even though he was the one who would eventually run the interrogation, he’d agreed to let Ashlyn take center stage. At least until Coreal was begging to tell them all he knew.
A moment later, a knock sounded at the door. Talbot called out for the newcomers to enter. A moment later, the door slid open and two of the biggest men Ash had ever seen stepped inside. They each held one of Coreal’s arms. Without a word, they moved further into the office. Ashlyn grinned and nodded. The sergeant on the right, Travis Booth, grinned in return. Then he and his partner, Corporal Vincent Cenci, forced Coreal to his knees.
Show time.
With a wink, Ashlyn nodded for Booth to remove the commandant’s hood. As he reached out do to so, she wiped all amusement from her expression. She wanted Coreal’s first sight of her to be something he’d never forget. Unless he was as scared of her as she’d once been of him, she’d have failed.
The moment the hood was removed, Coreal shook his head, blinking his eyes against the sudden light. Then he gasped, his eyes going wide and all the color draining from his face as he recognized Ashlyn. In return, her upper lip curled back and she negligently dragged her boots off the desk, leaving scuff marks in their wake.
“Gunnery Sergeant, has this poor excuse of a human being told us the access codes for The Residence?” she asked as she climbed to her feet. As she did, Coreal blanched. Good. Let him fear her, them.
“That’s a negative, ma’am.” If she had sneered, Talbot’s expression all but withered the commandant. “Of course, after his first attempt to pass the blame, he hasn’t exactly been in a position to say much of anything.”
Oh, he was good. She’d need to remember that.
“You’re right of course. Maybe that’s given him the time he needed to decide if he’s going to cooperate with us or not.”
She shook her head and moved around the desk, motioning for Talbot to join her. Ignoring the way Coreal flinched and tried to move avoid her touch, she grabbed his jaw in her gloved hand and forced him to look her in the eye. “I’d have killed you by now if that’s what I was after,” she said coldly. “Hell, I still might if you don’t tell me what I want to know. Or I might just toss you into one of the larger holding cells with a few of the lifers here. How long do you think you’d last with some of them?”
“Captain, you promised us we could have him if anything happened to our people,” Talbot growled.
It was all she could do not to look at the gunny in surprise. He sounded like he meant it. More than that, he sounded like he wanted her to do just that.
“Ah, Gunny, I really wish I could. But I promised the good lieutenant over there that we wouldn’t do anything to Coreal if he cooperated.” She nodded to where the JAG sat, impassively looking on. “Lt. Liu, what are the current charges against Coreal?”
“Failure to follow orders, insubordination, dereliction of duty, fraud, embezzlement, six counts of aggravated assault, three counts of kidnapping, three counts of attempted murder. And those are just the counts that apply to your squadmates, Captain, and doesn’t take into account additional charges that will be filed after the strike teams return from the mines and what you called The Residence.” His voice was almost bored as he listed the charges.
“And what are the potential charges he faces if the strike teams find my people have been injured or killed?”
“At the very least, he will face additional aggravated assault charges. If any of your people have died, I will personally charge him with capital murder.”
“Is there any way for him to mitigate the charges against him.”
She heard Coreal gasp and knew he was finally getting the message. Good. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could be this close to him and not simply reach out and break his neck. One quick twist was all it would take. Her right hand was already in place since she still had those fingers twisted in his hair and his head pulled back so he had no choice but to look at her. There was no doubt in her mind, she’d be able to kill him before Talbot or Liu could stop her.
“Please. Anything. I’ll tell you anything.” Sweat steamed down his face and she knew they almost had him where they wanted him.
“What’s the entry code for The Residence?” Ashlyn asked. “No tricks. I want the main code. If my people tell me anything goes wrong on entry, I will have your head after I let the inmates here spend some quality time with you.”
Coreal swallowed hard and then rattled off the code. Before she could respond, Talbot was relaying it to the strike team. As he did, Ashlyn stepped back, not trusting herself to be near the man who had haunted her dreams for so long. She needed something solid between them before she proved that she was no better than he.
And, damn it, she was. She wasn’t a monster even if he had made sure there was now a very dark side to her she struggled to control.
“Lieutenant?”
“I think that’s a good place to start, Captain. I’m sure you have more important things to do besides spending one more moment in the presence of this sorry excuse for a man.”
Liu looked at Coreal in distaste and Ashlyn realized he had no more use for the man than did she. Good. She might not have much use for the JAG Corps yet, but Liu was doing a lot to prove that most of his section had nothing to do with what happened to her and the others. More importantly, it was also becoming clear that he didn’t approve of what happened. Hopefully that meant he’d fight to see justice was done.
“I do.” But she didn’t leave. There was one more thing to do. “Coreal, listen closely because I’m only going to say this once. If you want to save yourself, you will answer each and every one of the lieutenant’s questions. You won’t hedge and you won’t lie. As you made abundantly clear while I was under your care, accidents can happen and I know there are a number of Marines on-planet right now who would gladly see that an accident occurred. More than that, think about the inmates. They have their own reasons for hating you. Reasons they will gladly tell the investigators. So, if you want to save your skin, tell Lieutenant Liu everything, including anything you might know about why my people and I were convicted and sent here.”
She moved back around the desk and crossed the office in the direction of the door. Suddenly, she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
“Lieutenant, keep the major and me in the loop. Sergeant Booth and Corporal Cenci will remain here. I’m going to check on my people.”
“And me, ma’am?” Talbot asked.
“Gunny, I know you’d like to have a few minutes alone with him but I need you with me right now. Sergeant, when the lieutenant finishes questioning the prisoner, find a cell for him. It can be in the main population area as long as he’s the only prisoner in it. Do the same with the others currently enjoying some time in the yard.”
“Understood, ma’am.”
“I’ll leave you to it then, LT. Let me know if he—” She jerked her head in Coreal’s direction –“gives you any trouble.”
“Will do, Captain.”
Ashlyn nodded and left the office, Talbot on her heels. Once the door slid shut behind them, she blew out a breath. So far, she’d managed to hold it together but she knew it wouldn’t be long before reaction set in. She felt the pressure of it building. All the memories and fear, all the pain and despair seemed to be fighting to return. If she didn’t get out of there soon, she wouldn’t be responsible for what happened.
“Gunny, I’m going to go check in with the medics and see how our people are doing. While I do, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Of course, Cap.”
She saw he was worried about her but wasn’t sure she could do anything to reassure him.
“I need you to check the records here and see what they did with my belongings after I was transferred back to the capital. I didn’t have much but there were a few things, a picture of my son and a book my mother gave me, I’d like to have.”
“I’ll see if I can’t find them.�
��
“Thank you.” She closed her eyes and struggled for the right words. “Gunny – Kevin, you’ve got a pretty good idea how hard today’s been for me.”
He nodded.
“And I know you will do whatever you can to keep me from making a mistake I’d regret later.”
Another nod.
“I can’t stay here. I need to get away before I decide to go back in there and tear Coreal apart with my bare hands. So I’m going to go sit with our people and try to reassure them that they really are all right and will soon be going home.”
“Cap.” He looked around to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard. “Ash, the fact you haven’t killed that bastard already amazes me. I’m not sure I could have stopped myself if I were in your shoes. Don’t you worry. We’ll make sure he gives the LT the information we need to close this hellhole down. He’s going to pay for what he’s done. I swear it and you know a Devil Dog never breaks his word.”
She couldn’t help it. She smiled, touched not only by the conviction in his voice but by the fact he’d broken protocol enough to call her by her name. She could count on one hand how many times he’d done so and still have fingers left over.
“Now go sit with the others. I’ll see what I can find out about your personal effects. I’ll join you once I’m done.”
“Thanks, Gunny.” She clasped his arm and then left the outer office, wanting to put as much distance as possible between herself and Coreal before she did do something they would all regret.
Chapter Thirteen
Ash paused inside the shuttle and nodded. After leaving Coreal’s office, she’d found herself just standing before the lift doors, wondering what to do next. Pawlak had left her at the penal colony because of her limited duty status. Even though she’d wanted to argue, she’d known he was right. Any doubts she might have had had been erased when she was finally face-to-face with the former prison commandant. She’d wanted to hurt him and it wouldn’t have taken much to push her over the edge. If she’d gone with either of the strike teams and found her people hurt – or worse – she would have lost it. Fortunately, the major had realized it and was doing what he’d always done best. He was protecting one of his own from doing something they’d regret later.
As she rode to the ground floor, she’d realized there was something she could do. She could be with the three of her people they had found so far. More than that, she needed to be with them. She needed to see for herself that they were going to be all right and she wanted to be the one to tell them what had happened to bring about their freedom. She just hoped they understood why it had taken so long for her to come back for them.
Now, standing inside the shuttle, she breathed a sigh of relief. Talbot had assured her that the three members of her team they’d found so far were going to be all right. She’d wanted to believe him. But the doubts had been there. She understood, and even appreciated, the fact he might be trying to protect her from being hurt. So she’d needed to see for herself.
And, thank God, the Gunny had been right.
Two of her former team were bundled in blankets on flight couches. They watched closely as the medic worked on the third member of the team. All of them bore scars and had that same haunted look in their eyes Ashe still saw all too often in her own. But they were alive and, at least at first glance, not too badly injured.
As if sensing her presence, the man nearest her turned his head. His green eyes widened in disbelief and he was suddenly struggling to get free of his blanket. Instantly, Ashe reacted, motioning for him to lie still. The last thing she wanted was for him to injure himself trying to get up.
“Captain?”
Lieutenant Michael “Mick” Malloy looked at her in a mixture of hope and disbelief. As he did, the man in the second flight couch turned his head in their direction. The expression on Corporal Edward Harston’s face was an almost identical match to Malloy’s.
“Easy, LT,” she soothed, crouching next to his flight couch. Tears burned in her eyes as she reached out and pulled the blanket about his shoulders.
“Cap, what’s going on?” Harston asked.
“The short version is that we’re going home, guys. Our convictions have been tossed out and, just to make sure there are no questions, we have received pardons from the President.”
“Why?” Malloy wanted to know.
“There’s more to what’s happened than I can tell you in a few minutes. But from what I’ve gathered, the public didn’t buy the brass’s charges against us any more than most of the military did. In the next election, those pols who didn’t back an attempt to clear our names and free us were pretty much voted out of office. President Markham took office and immediately began cleaning house. While he did that, Senator Tremayne.” She grinned in understanding as the two looked at her in surprise. “Yep, the admiral went and turned politician on us. Anyway, she continued working to find out what really happened on that last mission and between what she discovered and what Rico Santiago and his people found, the President issued full pardons for all of us.
“In the meantime, General Okafor took over as Commandant of the Corps and she’s been merciless in how she’s dealt with those behind our being brought up on charges. The investigation has continued and she’s assured me that there will be charges filed for what happened to us.”
“You’ve talked to the general?” Harston asked.
Ashe nodded. This was where it could get difficult. Would they understand that she hadn’t had a choice in leaving them in this hellhole? Or would they resent her for being released even a few weeks before they were?
“I have.” She thought hard, trying to figure out the best way to explain what happened. “Several weeks ago, I was taken from my cell. There was nothing to make me think it was for anything but another session with Coreal. I don’t know how they treated you, but any time I was moved, I would be hooded, cuffed and shackled. That’s how it was this time.”
When they both nodded, she relaxed a little. Maybe they would understand.
“When I realized it was Haritos who’d come for me, let’s just say I figured I’d be visiting the infirmary again.”
“God, Cap, I’d hoped I was the only one seeing the sadistic side of that bastard,” O’Malley said.
“I think it’s probably a good bet we all saw too much of him and of Coreal,” Harston commented.
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Ash agreed grimly. “But this time was different. I was taken to a shuttle and transported to a ship that took me back to the capital. I didn’t even know where we were going until I was on a shuttle heading dirtside and could see the surface. Even then, no one told me why I’d been returned.
“The only thing I knew for certain was that Haritos had warned me to keep my mouth shut. You, all of you, were the weapons he held. The not-so-subtle threat was that if I talked about what was going on here, you would all die – or worse. So I did as he said.”
She paused and rubbed her face, trying to scrub away the memories and the pain. “A lot has happened since then and I’ll give you a full briefing after you’ve eaten and have gotten some rest. Just know that a week after I arrived, I was pardoned and so were each of you.”
“Then why—”
Sergeant Caleb Baldwin didn’t finish his statement. He didn’t have to. Ashlyn had a very good idea what he’d been going to say.
“Word of your pardons was sent here. I’ve seen the comm and I’ve seen the acknowledgment of it. We didn’t come sooner – hell, Caleb, we couldn’t come any sooner – because the capital was attacked.”
That had all three sitting up, their expressions mirror images of outrage and disbelief. Before Ashe could explain, the medic was telling Baldwin to lie back down or she’d sedate him. Then she gave Ashe a look that left no doubt in her mind that she’d like to sedate her as well.
“Our best guess is that it was a test of our defense systems and response because it was a very limited, one time only attack. But FleetCom pu
lled First Fleet in and didn’t want to strip out even one ship to come here before they were sure the home system was secure.”
She held her breath, waiting for their responses. Hopefully they’d understand that she hadn’t wanted to wait to come for them. But what choice had there been?
“Callusians?” O’Malley asked.
“That’s our best guess.”
“Cap, don’t look so worried,” Harston told her. “You couldn’t get here any sooner. We know that. Hell, we know you’d probably have stolen a ship if you could have to come back for us. But you’re here now.”
“Boomer’s right, ma’am.” Baldwin nodded in agreement. “All I want to know is if any action is going to be taken against the bastards here.” His voice turned hard, harder than Ash could ever remember it being.
Well, that was one thing she could answer and, hopefully, make them feel better.
Without a word, she pulled out her datapad and typed in a set of commands. A moment later, the video feed from Coreal’s office came online. She adjusted the angle slightly and then handed the datapad to O’Malley. Seeing the satisfaction light his expression before he handed the datapad to Harston was enough.
“I assume it was your idea to take that bastard to his own office in chains, Cap,” Baldwin said as she studied the video.
“And hooded.” She gave them an almost feral grin, knowing they’d understand and approve. She took the datapad back and typed in a new command before handing it back to Baldwin. Unless she missed her guess, the sergeant needed to see Haritos chained and helpless even more than she had needed to see Coreal that way.