David waited. Unable to get the rest he wanted, he tried to enjoy the quiet stillness of the night. He hoped the cool breeze would be sufficient refreshment, and that it would help him stay alert. And miraculously he did manage to remain awake—for the twenty minutes it took until the walking mystery left his house, skulking out the front door with the porch light shining down.
David started to smile at that. Then as the bundled figure turned in the light and stepped out into the night, he caught a glimpse and his jaw dropped. It was only a glimpse, and with the sunglasses and scarf obscuring her, he’d be crazy to think he’d seen who he thought, so he set it aside. He’d save thinking for when his brain was firing on all cylinders.
He just followed the figure as they went. He’d need to confirm their identity one way or another, if he could.
If he could find out who this was, then he could return to trailing Crystal with one discovery already in his pocket. Then perhaps he could go get some sleep.
It was a short walk. The person he tailed strode straight across several lawns and right up to another house in the same neighborhood. He knew to whom the place belonged, and because his mom had told him all about the situation, he even knew who was living there right now.
He should’ve known he couldn’t have mistaken those red curls and that distinctive chin, even in the most fleeting glance. It made perfect sense and no sense at all at the same time. David knew Caroline Sanderson was the sort of important leader in the community his mother would naturally have dealings with, but not in this cloak and dagger fashion. He also knew that the woman was a dogged critic of the administration.
He’d achieved his goal. But he no longer felt up to returning to the Rec Center. He’d made his discovery and identified the unknown quantity, and he could follow this lead, pursue this puzzle later. Now he needed some sleep.
So David turned around and headed for home and his bed. He might have preferred his bed at the dorm, but that was far and the house was close. As he stumbled along, his mind spun.
He had a vague thought that he shouldn’t be trying to think, but it got lost among the puzzle pieces flying around in his brain. Crystal worked first for his mom, and then got a second job working as an assistant to Caroline Sanderson, but that wasn’t the only connection between the two women.
David had witnessed both Sgt. Rossiter and Caroline sneaking out of his mother’s house, and he was forced to wonder if the two surreptitious visits were somehow related. He’d assumed the sergeant had been meeting Crystal, but it could have been David’s mom, or even both women.
He had a difficult time seeing his mother as a part of whatever might involve those other people. There’d be no need to spy on her if she was a part of it. Neither would they need to find a way to get the access codes from her.
And he’d forgotten about Chief Gray. He had a difficult time imagining Gray as the puppet master pulling all these strings, especially if David’s mother was to be one of the puppets. If he were to look for the brains behind the conspiracy, his mother made a more logical suspect. I don’t believe it.
He had to be missing something. His mom and Caroline, Crystal and Rossiter and Gray. The names kept turning in his head, trying to fit together, whirling around with everything he’d seen and heard.
David barely knew he’d come home when he realized he was climbing the stairs. He walked to his room in a daze. And as his head hit the pillow, he thought he saw the whole picture, but it was already escaping into the empty black.
Chapter 10
Not So Covert Action
5:55 p.m. Saturday, December 14th
KAT shoved back her chair as she stood, grabbing her tray from the table. She was enjoying the food here, and the company, and it compensated a little for her lack of progress.
She grinned around at the guards she’d shared her meal with. “Don’t worry. I’m not telling anyone how good the cooking is. Or what kind of stories you guys have been making up.”
They all smiled at her and offered mock salutes as she turned to leave. Thankfully she’d not had any trouble making friends with the rank-and-file, even after her horrible blunder that first day. Frustrated that she couldn’t find Sgt. Rossiter anywhere, she’d insisted on conducting a thorough inspection of the guards’ barracks, in a manner that had likely come across as high-handed and insulting.
Perhaps the men had been embarrassed. Aside from a few clerks, there weren’t any other females around—and none among the guards themselves. But Kat had smoothed things over afterwards.
She had hoped to find Sgt. Rossiter here putting on his feed bag, since that seemed to be his routine, but once again he was absent on some vague errand. She’d made the best of the situation and enjoyed a satisfying dinner with some of the regular guards. They’d probably return for seconds, but she wanted to move on. In more ways than one.
Aside from the simple job Tony had handed her, she was also determined to find out something useful on her own. As long as she was here, she might as well try. Since she was already spending her time getting to know the guards, she figured careful observation would go a long way. And maybe it would, eventually, but she was getting tired of waiting.
Outside the cafeteria, Kat stalked down the hall toward Chief Gray’s office. She called him ‘Colonel’—in public at least, because everyone else did, and she had ruffled enough feathers as it was. But the runaround Gray had been giving her over the past three days only confirmed the initial impression of the man she’d gotten from reading his file.
Kat thought Tony should be less worried about Chief Gray being pressured into precipitate action, and more concerned about how to get the man to take any action at all. Surely Gray would do more harm to the compound through sheer laziness than he ever could by actually trying.
She ignored the aide sitting outside Gray’s office and walked right in without knocking. Despite his position and former rank, she didn’t have to be polite in private, or put up with any nonsense out of him, and he knew that. Or he should.
Chief Gray raised his chin from his chest as she entered, then slowly smiled at her. Kat was at a loss for words. The man had clearly been napping.
Aside from what she considered his general incompetence, Gray even looked his name. This was one old mare that needed to be put out to pasture. She wasn’t sure why it hadn’t been done yet.
“Well, where’s Rossiter now?” Kat deliberately dropped the deference she showed him in front of the guards. “I’ve had a chance to evaluate your other two sergeants.” But she hadn’t even met Rossiter yet, and Tony had told her to check him out first.
Gray wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and returned it to his pocket. “Excuse me, Miss Miles. I’m always a bit drowsy after my supper.”
Kat kept her jaw firmly shut to avoid making a rejoinder. She also refrained from pulling her own hair out. She would not allow this sorry excuse for a leader to get to her. “Rossiter?”
“Oh. I sent him off to check on something. The work on the perimeter defenses, I think.”
A likely story. And one Kat had heard before. After she’d come and introduced herself to Gray on Thursday, she’d inquired about his officers. She’d wanted to start with Rossiter and been told the same thing she was hearing now, and she had insisted on seeing the sergeant right away.
Lt. Henson had escorted her halfway across the compound to the border zone where the work crews were doing their job—but there’d been no sign of Rossiter, and no trail to follow. The man didn’t even have his FURCS pad on him to be pinged.
Then she’d taken out her frustrations by rummaging around the guards’ barracks and endearing herself to everyone. She’d started off on the wrong foot, but she’d managed to fix her relationship with the guards. However, her attempts to find out about Gray or Rossiter or anything else of import had been impeded at every turn.
“I don’t think I’ll bother traveling all that way to find out, Colonel.” Kat seethed on the inside. “I’ll take a look at your guards at
the gate.”
“That’s important, sure.” Gray nodded his approval. “Sgt. MacTierney can show you around.” He buzzed his secretary and asked her to summon the sergeant. “How’s your father doing? I suppose you speak to him regularly.” To report, was the implication.
No, Kat did not. She hadn’t seen her father for days, and that only in passing, but she didn’t want to share that with this man, or anything else. At least she liked MacTierney. She liked the other sergeant and Lt. Henson as well. The only person here she hadn’t cared for was Gray—unless she counted Rossiter, for whom she had gradually developed a deep loathing without even meeting the man. Prejudice plain and simple, but Kat couldn’t help it.
“I don’t want to disturb your digestion.” Kat decided she needed to begin omitting any pretense of respect. Gray wasn’t her boss—technically she was still assigned to Internal Security. “I’ll just wait for MacTierney out there.” And she turned and left for the lobby. She’d had enough of Gray for one day.
So much for the assignment Tony had saddled her with—Gray surely thought he was managing to handle Kat, and perhaps he was. She took a sharp look at the hard plastic seats in the outer office and decided to stand. She had hoped to needle Gray into revealing something, anything, of what he might be planning, but she couldn’t abide being around the man for long enough.
She was supposed to investigate Rossiter, too, and she hadn’t even been able to find him. The only thing Kat had succeeded at, as far as she could see, was becoming a decoy. And for that she hadn’t had to do anything.
Ostensibly she was a liaison officer, a newly created post to help coordinate between Internal and External Security. Not that there was anything to coordinate. That had been the whole point.
As the daughter of the director, Kat was intended to be viewed as a plant. Everyone believed she’d be reporting back everything she saw and heard—she’d even made subtle jokes about that as part of her charm offensive.
The guards had been easy enough to win over. But if somebody here was in league with Governor Roberts, they must not believe her sufficient threat. Not enough to try dealing with her in a more direct fashion. So much for being a target.
Tony had said her mere presence would suit his purposes. He’d surely expected Kat would proceed with her own investigation, though, knowing her as he did. That he’d not warned her off could be indulgence—but if he hoped she’d achieve anything extra, it looked as if he’d be sorely disappointed.
Kat was tired of waiting. Her lack of progress was creating a desire to take action and make something happen. She’d even begun patrolling alone at night, once she finished with the guards, as a way to try and deal with her impatience.
The outer door swung open, and Sgt. MacTierney marched in, giving Kat a smart salute. “At your service, mam.”
She returned the salute even as she marveled at the diversity of reactions she’d garnered. Her rank as a security officer meant nothing here. The regular guards understood that she had no real authority over them, and they treated her like an officer—but in a casual, teasing manner.
The two sergeants she’d met, however, both behaved as if she were truly their superior, giving her due deference. Though nothing of the sort had been suggested as far as she was aware.
Lt. Henson, on the other hand, had treated her as a civilian—even making a pass at her.
Kat hadn’t understood the differences in her reception, but she’d gone along with it, because it was important to her mission to let them feel comfortable around her. Though she wouldn’t mind making Gray and Rossiter feel distinctly uncomfortable.
She’d like to think those two were afraid of her, prompting Gray to try fobbing her off, and Rossiter to work hard avoiding her. But she suspected Chief Gray was actually enjoying the taunt. Playing keep away with the one person in whom she’d expressed an interest.
Kat sighed to herself and motioned MacTierney to precede her. “I want to see how things are done at the gate post.” At least it was a short walk. Unlike the lengthy wild goose chase Gray had dangled in front of her. Checking the gate wouldn’t take long, but this whole tangled assignment was of undetermined length. It could go on and on and on.
Three days in and Kat was beginning to suspect Tony had emphasized a real but tiny danger to lure her into accepting what in actuality would be nothing but prolonged tedium. Which was partly why she had started ignoring policy and patrolling at night—all on her own, like Tony.
Sgt. MacTierney looked over his shoulder and tried to talk as he walked. “It’s been really exciting to have you here with us, Officer Miles. I mean a breath of fresh air, mam.”
“Had it been boring before? With the possibility of an armed assault at any moment?” Kat knew she sounded sarcastic and tried again. “I’d expected to find everyone more on edge.”
The sergeant blushed and turned back to watch his feet. “We were. At first.”
“And then?”
“Three weeks and no excitement. Not here. I understand you—” The sergeant paused. He continued after clearing his throat. “Everything kind of relaxed some here, bit by bit.”
Kat wondered what the guards were saying to each other about her, but she was more concerned about who might be spreading it, and even more she worried about this gradual relaxing of the guards. She tried to think how she could get more details out of the sergeant about how that was happening.
She was still considering what tack she might take when they arrived at the small square building set back from the main road. The natural light had completely gone by then, but the floodlights at the gate were glaring.
Kat stood and stared. The thick iron bars that spanned the gap in the wall seemed formidable, but the padlocked gate in the security fence didn’t. She couldn’t see much into the forest beyond, in spite of the lights.
She continued to examine the area as she asked, “Is no one at the actual gate?” She couldn’t see any guards around. She turned to frown at her escort.
MacTierney looked distinctly uncomfortable, as well he should. “Well, since everything’s sealed up, and without any visitors to check in or anything—”
“You do remember why we’re on lockdown in the first place?”
“Yes, mam.” The sergeant blushed. “But Colonel Gray said there was no use to having a man out there just to be target practice. Not when that’s all there is to do, anyway.”
She blinked. “There is something else a guard could do at the gate. He could watch.”
Kat saw in MacTierney’s eyes that he agreed. Nevertheless, he had a different answer ready for her. “There’s a security camera on top of the fence, at that one corner,” he said as he pointed at something lost in the glare of the lights.
So, Internal Security had no cameras anywhere, but the Guards had one conveniently pointed at the official approach to the compound. She wasn’t sure which was more pathetic. “So who’s ‘watching’?” If that’s what it could be called.
MacTierney coughed into his hand. “I’m not sure, but someone at HQ monitors the video feed.”
Kat wondered who had been assigned that duty, if anyone. Perhaps that was the reason Sgt. Rossiter couldn’t be found, but she still didn’t like it. She was liking the whole setup less and less. It wouldn’t take much for even a small force to get past the security fence, and the guards were clearly unprepared.
The perimeter wall was the best protection they had, but it wasn’t really much of an improvement. The modifications Cameron’s crew were busy making would help some, but not enough. Not against a military assault of the kind anticipated. Particularly not with an enemy in charge of the defense.
MacTierney cleared his throat again—his signal he wanted to speak and was asking for permission.
She wished he wouldn’t do that. She’d rather not have to say, “Go ahead, Sergeant.”
“Well, mam. I was just wondering what you’re thinking.” MacTierney blushed again. “The way you’re staring at the gate.”<
br />
Kat snorted. “I’m wondering why they haven’t breached the fence already. It wouldn’t take much and would make it easier for them when they attacked. But it would put us on the alert, and maybe they don’t want that. Maybe they want us relaxed.”
“Colonel Gray says—” The sergeant stumbled over his words as he met the look in her eye. “He says everyone’s looking for a political solution.”
“That may be, sergeant. But it’s no excuse for a lack of vigilance. Because we don’t know what they are actually doing.” Which was true for her at least. Is it true for Gray and Rossiter, too? And she was beginning to have her doubts about how much Tony and her father knew about what was going on.
“The colonel says they’re waiting.”
Kat agreed. In her opinion they were waiting, but likely not for a political solution, though who knew what a politician might define as a ‘political’ solution.
She realized she was tapping her toe against the ground and stopped. She gestured to the small hut-like structure. “The guards are in here, then?”
Sgt. MacTierney nodded and opened the door, preceding her into the tight quarters. At a small round table, two guards sat playing poker. Neither of them looked up from the game or acknowledged the sergeant’s entrance, and it irked her. MacTierney introduced them as Mathers and Robinson.
Kat didn’t try to hide her ire. “Only the two of you? I thought there were four guards on duty.”
The two guards looked at each other for a long moment, but neither talked. So Kat turned back to MacTierney and cocked an eyebrow.
The sergeant frowned at the two men, but spoke to her. “I suppose the other two haven’t returned from dinner.”
“I don’t recall seeing them in the mess.” There had been only a few guards there, and Kat had taken the trouble to learn where they were headed when they finished.
“Colonel Gray started permitting the men to go out for meals if they wanted. Said it’d be good for morale. I could check where they’ve gone.”
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