Starting the Slowpocalypse (Books 1-3 Omnibus)

by James Litherland

  Anthony waited a long minute before he spoke. “Now. Officer Trainee King, I know I’ve been operating this department on a rather casual basis for a long time. But I still expect my officers to maintain certain standards of professional conduct, and coming on to a coworker, here at headquarters, falls far short of those expectations.”

  Sara glared right back at him. “Seeing how hard that poor kid works, I offered to give him a backrub to help—”

  “Stop. What I saw was no backrub.”

  “Alright. Are you going to try to interfere in this relationship too? Ben isn’t even black.”

  “Neither this nor the situation with Paul related to your, erm, relationships.” Hopefully referring to her and Ben being in a relationship was only an unwarranted assumption on Sara’s part. “I explained. You were free to see Paul since he was no longer responsible for supervising your training. Then I find you interfering with Ben’s work, and I’m not talking about questioning him in your capacity as a councilor. I don’t want your personal affairs affecting anyone’s job performance here. Are we clear?”

  She nodded curtly. “We are now. But since you never spelled out any of these ‘rules’ before, punishing me for breaking a ‘code’ I never knew about isn’t fair. How was I to know what you ‘expected’ of me? You should write these things down.”

  Anthony shook his head. “This is why I haven’t promoted you yet—you shouldn’t need a list of rules to guide your behavior. Develop good judgment for making the right decisions, depending on the actual circumstances. And you’re not being punished.”

  “It certainly feels like it.” Sara stood there staring down at him and planted her fists on her hips. “I think I showed good judgment with Paul. We work well together, and he’s a good man. We started seeing each other, and then what was I supposed to do? Submit a formal statement about the relationship? I didn’t try to hide it.”

  “And what about Ben?”

  “If he had any objection, he should’ve told me to stop, but he didn’t. If he did object to my attention. And you considered him to have the judgment to be promoted to an officer. But not me?”

  “Are you through? Because I thought I made it clear how I felt about your attention to Ben.” Turning the topic, Anthony asked about the reason she’d gone up there in the first place. “And if you wanted to know about the security arrangements for counting the votes, why didn’t you ask me? I would have told you about the details.” After Ben had explained them to him first.

  “You’re part of the administration. It’s my duty to keep an eye on what you are doing. So I went to Ben and found the answers for myself.”

  Anthony leaned forward and squinted at her. “I don’t think you fully understand the respective roles of the council and the administration.” The council existed to advise the administration, and to help the civilian community—that was the idea, anyway.

  Sara crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him. “First you question my judgment, and now you insult my intelligence. Remember I was chosen by my peers to represent them, so you are implicitly disrespecting their wisdom.”

  She was putting him in a difficult position, and she knew it. He did doubt the collective intelligence of the student body—they had chosen Sara, after all. But he could hardly say that.

  Making tough calls was part of being in charge, and sometimes there seemed to be no good choices. He still felt she lacked the judgment to be an officer, but keeping her as a trainee would be politically difficult—while dismissing her altogether, without sufficient grounds and when Security was short-staffed already, would be even worse. So he’d have to make the best of a bad situation.

  “Alright Officer King, you’ve proven your point, and now you’ll have the chance to prove yourself as well.” And since he was still acting as her partner, at least for the time being, he could keep an eye on her. To see if she improved at all. But he certainly would not let her out on her own.

  Sara stared at him for a moment, apparently requiring a while to process her victory. Finally nodding, she asked him what he wanted her to do first.

  As soon as Grace came on shift at midnight, Anthony could alternate between the two women, taking each out on patrol part of the night while leaving the other here. Until then…

  “We’ll wait until Salazar and Gabe get back and take their break, then we’ll go out and patrol, unless something comes up.” It always did.

  “Are you sure you should be out patrolling when you’re still recovering from the flu? Since you made me a full officer, once Grace gets in I could take her out while you stay here, sir.” Showing she had bothered to pay attention to the few policies he had lain down.

  He was considering how best to show her he remained capable of taking care of business when his FURCS pad buzzed. Looking at the screen he saw it was a call from Caroline. Just what he needed.

  Holding the pad to his ear to keep her end of the conversation private, Anthony answered the call. “I happen to be busy, Care. Is this an emergency?” No it wasn’t, apparently. “Then why are you calling?”

  Was Tony aware protesters had gathered on the lawn outside her house? That they were waving inflammatory signs? What did he plan to do about it? She didn’t feel safe trying to get past them alone.

  Anthony sighed loud enough for her to hear. “I do know. You sent me that message this afternoon, and I’ve had officers swinging by on a regular basis, but so far the protesters don’t seem to have become violent, or even aggressive. But if it’ll make you feel better, tell me where you are, and I’ll have a security team escort you to your front door.” He could have just pinged her FURCS pad to find her location, but he would only do that in an emergency.

  Caroline was at the Media Centre, but she didn’t want to be seen needing a security team to get in or out of her own house, or to look like she’d asked for protection from people who might, after all, be persuaded to vote for her.

  Gritting his teeth in frustration, he asked her to explain. “What exactly, then, can I do for you?”

  Wouldn’t it be possible for Tony himself to take her home? Then it wouldn’t look like protection.

  Anthony lifted his eyes to consider Sara. “If you hadn’t heard, Care, I’m still contagious. This paper mask I have to wear might not be enough protection to keep from infecting you, and I know you wouldn’t want that. How about if I send Sara over? She’s one of your fellow councilors, so it should look alright.”

  Caroline expressed her doubt that the girl could keep her safe, but after Anthony assured her that he had full confidence in Sara, she gave in and said she would be waiting patiently for Officer King.

  As soon as he’d ended the call, he glared at Sara. “I had to tell her that so she would accept you as an escort, but don’t think you’ve earned my confidence yet. And since you’re eager to get out and get some experience, I assume you don’t mind escorting Caroline home.”

  Sara shook her head. “Normally it would be the kind of work you’d send a safety aide for, but she’s a council member after all. And there is a mob there. Maybe it’ll turn violent when she shows up and then I’ll get a bit of excitement.”

  Anthony frowned at her. “If I thought there was any chance of that, I wouldn’t send you alone, but it should be safe enough.” In case it wasn’t though, he would follow her and shadow them both until Caroline was safely home. That would also give him the opportunity to observe Sara when she was unaware he was watching her. “Though I imagine the two of you may have plenty to chat about along the way.”

  Her grin as she left reminded him of Kat. Who was lying ill in bed while potentially violent protesters demonstrated outside. She couldn’t fight off an angry horde in her condition.

  He looked longingly at his couch. He needed to get some rest, but he would patrol all night instead, and near the Miles’ house. If things did get ugly, he wanted to be close to Kat.

  Chapter 16

  Every Vote Counts

  7:55 p.m. Saturday,
May 24th

  CAROLINE almost balked when she saw the huge crowd gathered outside her house. Last night there had been barely a dozen, and they had mostly slept. By lunchtime today they had grown to around thirty or so and seemed a bit restive, but it hadn’t been too bad. The throng had quadrupled since then though. Now she was glad Tony had convinced her to accept an escort more fitting to her station. Officers Courdray and Macklin were off duty and out of uniform, which was good, but they also looked tough and that was even better.

  The two had shown up just as she was ending a rally for her supporters at the Media Centre, insisting politely that they accompany her home, because Chief Nelson considered the situation there serious enough to warrant it. When she’d called Tony to ask about it, he’d smoothed her feathers by pointing out she was already a very important person and would likely soon be First Councilor. It wouldn’t do for her to go around without proper protection.

  Still more than a block away from her house she had realized the problem. Instead of a couple dozen protesters happily camping out on her front lawn, a hundred or more were now being roused to a frenzy by a handful of troublemakers. Then she’d reminded herself that all of them were voters. Some would be persuadable, and a few might even end up voting for her. And every vote counted.

  So Caroline couldn’t afford to appear afraid. Of course, she wouldn’t allow bullies to keep her out of her house, either. Grateful for the reassuring escort and flanked by her protectors, she walked down the path to her front door holding her head high as she listened to angry calls for her husband to come out, come out and face the people. Clearly they were still unaware that Miles was holed up in the clinic. Better if they remained uninformed on that score, since the last thing the sisters needed was this mob at the door.

  Unlocking her front door and stepping into the foyer, she turned back to the officers. “Lisa, Paul, I imagine you’d like some refreshment. I’m sure you earned it. Would you like to come in for a while?”

  They glanced at each other before Officer Courdray answered. “Thank you, but no. My boy is waiting for me at home, and I’m sure Paul needs sleep.” She looked at him and nodded slightly, as if that was an instruction he should follow. “We’ll wait for you to close and lock the door, then we’ll be on our way. But if there’s trouble, please alert Security immediately—help won’t be too long coming.”

  Caroline smiled and nodded. She’d appreciated their help, but their refusal to accept her hospitality confirmed her low opinion of cops in general. Only Tony seemed to show consideration for her feelings. Even her daughter didn’t follow his example in that regard—Katherine was always too focused on work. “Well, it’s been a pleasure to have been protected by you two today, and I hope I can count on your votes on Tuesday.”

  Officer Courdray nodded curtly, which might’ve meant anything, while Paul smiled at her, and then they both turned to face the crowd. Caroline closed and locked the door with a sigh. Taking a long moment to breathe deeply and gather herself, she then moved to the table in the hallway where she had left the protective gear she’d gotten at the clinic. When she was suitably encased in thick plastic, she moved further down the corridor to her daughter’s room.

  Caroline knocked to warn Katherine before she swung the door open and stepped in. She’d half expected to find Tony there, with the two of them in a compromising situation—thankfully, Katherine was there alone. The girl was standing to one side of the bedroom window, peeking around the curtain at the protesters outside. “Shouldn’t you be in bed resting and recuperating?”

  Her daughter turned and glared, the sweat glistening on her forehead. “Shouldn’t those people be somewhere else? Don’t they have anything better to do?”

  “Now. That may be true, but it’s hardly a diplomatic thing to say. And they have legitimate reason to be upset. Though they could express their anger in a more constructive fashion. But it would be useless to suggest so to them—instead, we need to find a way for them to do that and lead them to it.”

  Shaking her head, Katherine dropped her hand from the curtain and trudged back to bed. “I’m not interested in being diplomatic, Mother. I’ll leave all the political stuff to you.”

  “You should be, darling, and you can’t.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You could shun the limelight if you wanted to, even being the director’s daughter. But you haven’t done that, have you?”

  “I don’t go searching for the spotlight like you.”

  Caroline shook her head. “You would do much better if you tried. You may be unwilling to admit it to yourself, but as soon as Chief Cameron promoted you to be his lieutenant, you became a political figure. I’m sure he kept the worst of it away from you, but you must’ve gotten a taste of the reality the moment you stepped into his shoes. Or was it too brief to register with you, what the real responsibilities of your position are?”

  Katherine visibly bristled. “I understand all my responsibilities just fine, Mother.”

  “I don’t think you do, yet. But unless you resign your position, you will. You’re still young, dear, and you’ll learn—I just wish you’d make the effort to acquire the skills you’ll need in the future now. Since you’ll need them soon enough as it is, and you could save yourself a lot of headaches.”

  “When you say ‘skills’ you mean manipulation—getting people to do want you want them to do.”

  Taking a deep breath of the canned oxygen that was being pumped into her suit, Caroline wanted to grab her daughter and shake some sense into her. “I mean using some charm and tact so people will pay attention to you. Then maybe you can help them at least avoid doing something they’ll regret. And perhaps show them a better way.”

  “I can’t say I’ve seen much of this tact of yours—or the charm, for that matter.”

  Caroline sighed. “Don’t let’s fight, darling. Not when you’re too sick to trade barbs with me.”

  Settling back against her stack of pillows, Katherine stared at her. “I suppose you’re keeping yourself informed how things are going—with my dad, I mean.”

  “Miles is still hiding out in the clinic, dear. And while Dr. Harker says he’s taking his time to recover from the flu, the truth is that he’s just waiting for all this to blow over. So he won’t have to deal with anything. Like you, your father disdains diplomacy.”

  She was glad to see her daughter grin at that. “I know dad must have some diplomacy in him. After all, he got the government to build this place. As for charm, somehow he got you.”

  Caroline pursed her lips. “I wouldn’t say he has charm, but Miles can be awfully convincing.” Smiling at the memories, she had to shake herself to get back to the present. “But your father also has a talent for rubbing people the wrong way. You certainly take after him in that respect.”

  Katherine snorted in response and settled down under the covers. “How are the Guards doing, with so many people sick? And Security?”

  “Chief Cameron can growl quite effectively even with a paper mask hiding his scowl. And that young Sgt. MacTierney looks to be handling the night shift well enough, so it’s all going smoothly.”

  Her daughter shook her head. “Sgt. Rose is out sick still, isn’t he? And almost a third of the guards, I hear.”

  “That’s right, but they’ve still got plenty enough guards to prance around the buffer zone.” And over a dozen administrators were down with the flu, but that Belue woman could probably run everything by herself if she had to. If she could get away with it.

  “But what about Security? I know Tony’s back, but he’s still recovering, isn’t he?”

  Caroline nodded. “He looked absolutely miserable when I saw him this morning.” She caught the fleeting look of satisfaction on Katherine’s face, and wondered when she would get the details of whatever had gone on between her and Tony. “Kirkland is out sick if you didn’t know. And Tony has promoted Sara to an officer, which will likely make more work for him, not less.”
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br />   “Then I’d better hurry up and get over this, so I can pitch in and do my part.”

  “At Security, rather than back at the Guards? If you want to help out, you should get your rest—you look horrible. But if you have to do something, then you should watch. It will be educational.”

  “Watch? Watch what?”

  “Get up and walk back over to the window, and then you can see for yourself. And maybe take some notes. I’m going out to address the crowd.”

  Her daughter gaped at her. “Surely that’s some kind of joke? You can’t be serious, Mother. That’s a mob in the making if ever I saw one—and I have.”

  Caroline frowned at the memory. “I have plenty of experience dealing with crowds, dear.” Not ones as hostile as this though. She hadn’t had the chance to try reasoning with the one mob she’d seen. Tony had whisked her away too quickly.

  Katherine started struggling to get out from under the sheets. “I saw your security detail leave you at the door. They’ll be too far away by now, and you can’t go out to face that crowd alone. Besides, what could you possibly say to them?”

  It was nice to hear the concern in her daughter’s voice. “If you want to find out, you’ll have to watch my performance. From inside—you’re certainly not well enough to come out to try to protect me. If that throng looks like it’s turning ugly, you can call Tony to come to my rescue.”

  Swinging the door shut on Katherine’s consternation, Caroline’s heart began beating fast—for she wasn’t nearly as confident as she’d portrayed to her daughter. While she had played to a lot of different audiences, at worst those had been apathetic or difficult to win over. This was the second time she had faced an overtly aggressive audience—and this time she didn’t have Security at her side. She was rather glad about that.