by Susan Kelley
Someone gave orders behind her in a stern voice that would carry across a battlefield or any political arena. Someone important.
Emma looked over her shoulder and recognized military rank, high rank with lots of stars on his shoulders and a stern visage to testify to the earning of them. She stood up. “General, I need a medic here. Right now!” She knew how to give orders too.
He narrowed his eyes at her and kept giving orders to his men. “Full restraints during transport and during any medical procedures. Four guards at all times.”
A group of soldiers with a stretcher politely moved Emma out of the way. She allowed it only so Vin could get some help.
“Careful with his hand,” she warned them, but they picked him up without regard to it flopping around as they lifted him.
Vin groaned and tossed his head as if fighting for consciousness. The soldiers nearly dropped the stretcher. Two moved quickly to fasten straps on his uninjured wrist and ankles, hooking him tightly to the stretcher. They hesitated over his mangled hand.
“You put a strap on his injured hand and I will hunt you down.” Every one of the men towered over her by several inches, but they obeyed her.
Her mother wrapped her arm around Emma’s shoulders. “Let them take him, Emma.”
“I’m going with him.”
The general spat out more orders and the soldiers hefted the stretcher. They carried Vin toward a large transport parked outside the gate and taking up most of the street.
Emma hurried along beside them as other men loaded the wounded soldiers. They fastened Vin’s stretcher on last near the back. Emma started up the ladder to the deck, but one of the soldiers stopped her.
“I’m sorry, miss, but you can’t ride with us.”
“I’m going with my … my bodyguard to make certain he receives the medical care he needs.”
“No, you’re not, miss.” The general growled out more orders to his men. “Captain, keep a dozen men and secure these grounds. Everyone else will escort the wounded back to the base.”
“General, I’m going with my man, or he is staying with me.” Emma set her hands on her hips. “I’ll take him to a civilian hospital.”
“I understand you’ve been through a traumatic time here, miss.” The general probably meant to sound kind in his stern way. “Stay here with your mother.”
“Perhaps you’ve been traumatized, general, if you can’t understand my words. I’m going with my man.”
The general didn’t pretend at sympathy now. “Miss, this soldier isn’t your man. He belongs to the army. At this moment he’s charged with disobeying orders, failure to report to station and more counts of lying than I can number at this time. On top of that, he has six months of possible criminal activities to explain and needs to account for the whereabouts of numerous men, some of whom he may have murdered. He is my prisoner, going with me to a secure room where he will receive whatever medical care I deem he deserves. Now, step aside.”
The military vehicle moved away before Emma could respond to the obvious anger of the general’s tirade. She watched it go, feeling more helpless than when Ben had held her prisoner.
Her mother and Nate Ward joined her in staring after the departing transport. Nate had accompanied her mother into hiding, the two of them working out the legal issues to cut Ben off from the Brand fortune. Her mother put her arm around her again, and this time Emma didn’t shake it off.
“I have to help him, Mother.”
“Of course you do. General Drant is the chief of staff for the entire military. That’s why we contacted him. He’s been looking for Ben for months.”
“We can’t sacrifice Vin.”
“We’re not sacrificing him.” Her mother held her tighter. “Let’s get our house in order. Despite his harsh words, General Drant will get the best medical care for Vin. Then we’ll go claim your bodyguard and bring him home.”
As usual her mother had a plan. Sandra’s calm washed over Emma and quieted her panic. She took a few deep breaths and returned her mother’s hug. Nate encircled them both with his long arms. The gangly lawyer had been a friend of Emma’s father and was even more so nowadays to Sandra. Their warmth reminded Emma how lucky she was to have a family. Her mother, Nate, Vannie … but not Moe and maybe not Vin.
“You’re right.” Emma stepped out of the hug and looked around at the soldiers gathering up the mercenaries, the wounded and the dead. “Vin’s injuries aren’t lethal though they need expert care. The doctor at the base is a good surgeon. I’m going to change my clothing and go make sure that happens. Nate, what are my legal rights to see a prisoner held by the military?”
Nate grinned. He looped one arm through Emma’s and the other through her mother’s. He led them toward the house. “General Drant is a powerful man but even he must give audience to the richest woman in the universe and her heiress daughter if they ask a boon of him.
“Richest?” Emma hadn’t even told them about the iridium yet.
“Emma dear, with all the other major shareholders in prison, nearly every mining entity known is under our control.” Sandra grinned as largely as Nate. “Ben’s shares will come to us with his conviction just as Geoff Hadrason’s did. Nate is making sure they forfeit all rights to profits. Your very clever father must have figured out the type of men he was working with when he had those protection clauses written into their partnerships. It all belongs to you and me.”
Emma staggered, but Nate held her up. What could she do with that kind of wealth? And it wasn’t just wealth. She and her mother would be running the business. They could fix all the things that had gone so wrong over the years. She needed Vin at her side if she was going to rule the financial universe.
* * * *
As long as Vin didn’t try to wake up the pain remained distant. At times he sensed people near him and sometimes they spoke to him, but he heeded the call of the painless dark. One thought always cleared the fog when he thought of leaving the comforting unconsciousness. Emma was safe. His mission completed. All the bastards in custody somewhere. Yalo avenged. Emma safe. He slept.
“You’re going to have to wake up and talk to me sometime, Captain.”
The command in the voice and hearing his secret rank tugged Vin to the surface. Between the first blink of his eyes and the next he assessed his situation and environment. The bright white walls and ceilings along with the medicinal scents and the low hum of machines said medical facility. Sticky tags clung to his chest and straps bound his shoulder in place. Whatever they’d done to his broken hand rendered his fingers immobile though plenty of discomfort remained. And a general leaned over him. Five stars, the highest ranking officer in all the military. Drant.
“Sir.”
Drant stood up straight, his eyes narrowed as if Vin tried to trick him in some way. “Are you ready to talk now, marine?”
“Yes, sir.”
Drant still looked suspicious but he pulled a chair up beside Vin’s bed. “Then start at the beginning. Don’t leave anything out. Give me names and locations.”
Vin searched his thoughts for a beginning. The first years of his life had been secrets layered beneath secrets. But this was the lead officer and the Recon Marines were no more. Did the secrets matter? So the beginning would be when he was two or three. “We lived in a barracks with one large room and trainers bunked in with us.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Captain?”
“That’s the beginning as I remember it, sir.”
Drant stared at him and then looked away for a moment. His bottom lip quivered, and he made a sound like a snort. But when he turned his stare back to Vin, his expression looked as stern as ever. “Let me restate. Tell me when you left the company of the other Recon Marines and then everything you did up until this moment.”
Vin told him, starting with Yalo’s death and his fight with Joe. He told Drant of the months hunting down Hadrason’s compatriots. Each target gave up names and locations of another until o
nly Admiral Ben Lester remained. Vin couldn’t find him but learned from other sources that Lester was searching for his stepdaughter. Since Vin couldn’t find him, he found Emma and waited for Lester to show up. Speaking of the raid on Merris Five awakened the sorrow of Moe’s murder. The end of the tale didn’t take long as Drant knew much of it already.
“So some of these men you hunted are dead?”
“Yes.”
“How many are dead by your hand since you went off on your own?”
Vin thought of the mercenaries and miscreants many of the men he hunted had surrounded themselves with. Then there were the miners on Merris Five. The men guarding Ben. “I can’t say for sure, sir. Since I left Crevan Four, I wounded with fist, blade or gun three hundred and seventy-six men. I don’t know how many of that number died.”
Drant stared at Vin for a full minute and then shook his head. “I don’t know why you guys continue to surprise me.”
“Sir?” Vin had seldom interacted with superior officers except for Joe, but he’d expected men like the general to speak plainly and not in riddles like a civilian. A disturbance outside the door warned Vin right before the door swung open.
Emma swept into the room, her gaze skipping over the general and landing on Vin. Her mother and the man who’d been with her at the castle followed her in. Emma hurried the few steps to Vin’s side. She smiled and her eyes looked moister than usual as if she might cry. Why would she cry?
Vin tried to sit up, wondering who had to answer for Emma’s upset. But straps crossed his chest, hips and shackled his feet. He cursed and sank back into his pillow.
“Don’t try to get up,” Emma ordered, her small hand pressing against his chest. She frowned at the machines humming over his head.
“What are you doing here, ladies?” Drant asked. “Please leave this room immediately.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Emma said. “Actually, you should leave. Vin, don’t say another word to the general.”
“Miss Emma, I know you’ve been through a rough time, but this soldier is under my command.”
Emma stood straighter, her full height still well below the general’s size. “This man … Vin isn’t a soldier.”
The man with Emma and her mother stepped forward. He nodded at Vin but spoke to the general. “Nate Ward, esquire, in the service of both ladies. We’ve studied the court martial documents about Vin and his fellow Recon Marines. We also looked into the overturning of those charges as well as the new charges leveled against a number of men like Ben Lester. After the disobeying orders charge was dismissed, the surviving marines were named free men.” Nate smiled. “Named in writing by your own hand, general.”
“Don’t throw you fancy law degree around in front of me, son. I know what the decree meant and it was intended for the four Recon Marines currently residing on Giroux. This man was not among them.”
Nate looked like he might smile but he didn’t. “Names were not used, sir. And whatever you might have intended, the courts always side on the words of the law not the intent.”
“Vin is my protector,” Emma said. “Without him, Ben Lester would never have been caught.”
“Ten men are dead on this planet alone,” Drant growled. “Someone will answer for that.”
“If they do, it will be in civilian court,” Nate said in a calm and confident voice.
Vin re-evaluated the tall, skinny lawyer. He looked a little soft and worked at a career of physical ease, but when he talked to the general he had steel in his voice.
“Thank you for rendering my man medical assistance, general,” Emma said. “We’ll move Vin to our home immediately.”
Vin savored her words while Durant argued about where Vin belonged. He let the conversation flow over him as they argued across his bed. He watched Emma, memorizing her fine features and the animated way she used her hands to emphasize her points. Despite the pain stabbing his hand and the deep ache in his shoulder, Vin felt more at peace than he had since Yalo died. His eyes drifted closed, his body needing rest even if his heart demanded he stay awake and watch Emma.
“Are you falling asleep, Captain? Is discussion of your future boring you, soldier?” Drant barked.
Vin blinked himself alert. “Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir.”
“There are no negotiations going on here, General Drant.” Nate handed the AI unit he carried to the general. “Here’s the order from the Galactic Ministry ordering the former Recon Marine to be released into the custody of Brand Enterprises. He is in our employ and serves as the personal protector to one of the owners of Brand.”
“How did you get them to agree to this?” Drant glared at Vin and Nate in turn. “I had to fight those sanctimonious bastards tooth and nail to get a fair judgment for the other Recon Marines.”
Nate smiled. “As you’re probably aware, the mining industry is Hadrason Mining and with Hadrason in prison, the only other major shareholders, the Brand family, will take over every aspect of operations. The Ministry is eager to work with the new management. Especially knowing the goodwill of the Brand family will spill over into future contracts for the military.”
“Including our newest iridium mining venture,” Emma said.
“Iridium?” Nate and Drant asked at the same time.
Emma smiled. “I understand the military has a great need for iridium. I’m sure the Brand family would want to assist the organization that trained the owner’s protector.”
Drant looked from Vin to Emma, his eyes narrowed and his mouth set in a grim line. “I can’t let this man, responsible for the assault of four hundred men, go free without any investigation.”
“Three hundred and seventy-six, sir,” Vin reminded him.
Sandra gasped, and Nate’s eyes widened. But Emma only patted Vin’s chest again. “I’m sure he only did what he had to do to deal with those horrible criminals.”
“Miss Brand, I’m not sure you understand how dangerous this man is,” Drant said.
“General, the creation of the Recon Marines was part of my studies in psychiatry. I’ve spend the last forty days with this man. I’ve seen him in action, actions that saved my life and others.” Emma folded her arms across her chest, an imitation of the general’s posture. Despite her diminutive size, something about her made her appear larger. “Perhaps it’s you who doesn’t understand how dangerous getting our mining interests in order is going to be. I need Vin at my side. While my mother and Nate handle the home office details, I’ll be traveling to every mining site we own. I’m sure you can imagine the problems I’m bound to encounter.”
Vin thought of the rugged mining towns he’d been in. Few were as civilized as Hovel Port. And the managers running many of those mines were often nasty, vicious, men, caring only about the mine production and nothing about their workers’ behavior or living conditions. No way would he let Emma go to those places. But he had no say in what she did. The facts slowly fit together.
Emma and her mother owned Hadrason Mining, making them rich beyond imagining. The castle was her home. And she was a doctor who cared about regular people like those in Hovel Port. Everything about her was beautiful, inside and out. He loved her so desperately that he closed his eyes, afraid the emotion would overflow.
General Drant sighed. “I have to talk to some people. Leave Vin here. The medical care is better than you’ll find anywhere else on this rock. Now, allow me a moment alone with my former marine.”
Emma leaned over and kissed Vin. Her lips touched his and were gone before he could react. He watched her walk to the door, noticing the way her slim gray dress clung to her hips and thighs.
“Well, son, I guess somehow you’re going to come out of this smelling like a rose.”
Vin actually thought he needed a shower and even then he wouldn’t use rose-scented soap. “I doubt that, sir.”
“That’s some woman taking up battle for you. Make sure you deserve her.”
“I don’t deserve her, sir.”
Dran
t nodded. “Most soldiers don’t deserve the wonderful women that put up with them. I’ve been with my wife for over thirty years. I try to keep the worse ugliness from her but that girl of yours has worked with military vets and knows more about a soldier’s life than most civilians. If she loves you anyway, you better do your best to hold onto her.”
Emma had never said she loved him. “How do you know a woman loves you, general?”
Drant snorted. “I would guess that she would take on the most powerful man in the military for you. She’d probably use all the might of her wealth to keep you at her side. And maybe somewhere in the complicated female brain of her, she understands you a bit, accepts you for who you are and forgives you for things you can’t forgive yourself for. Those things tell you she loves you more than mere words can.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Drant patted Vin on his bad shoulder, sending shards of pain across his upper body. “It will get straightened out, son. I didn’t want to see you in prison anyway.”
After Drant left, Vin fought sleep back as he tried to recall everything Emma had ever said to him. He considered the way she looked at him, touched him, and now fought to keep him at her side. It sounded like love by Drant’s definition. But he’d still like those mere words.
Epilogue
Like many young girls, Emma had once dreamed of a lavish wedding in an old fashioned long dress, flowers by the bushel and her father walking her down the aisle to hand her off to a handsome young man. They would dance for hours at a reception attended by thousands with her new husband giving her chaste kisses to the cheers of the crowd.
Though her wedding couldn’t be more different than her childhood dream, the most important part was the same. A handsome young man would be her husband. Instead of stylish formal attire, he wore simple military garb of plain gray. His face sported a few half-healed bruises and one of his hands hid beneath a layer of bandages.