ASYLUM: Chapter 24

Chapter 24

   The mystery woman continued to thwart our attempts to identify her. I guess everyone was looking in the wrong places. Debra was the one who suggested she thought it was someone that I, or we knew; someone close to us, but it was hard to imagine who it could be. Who could be so close to us, so friendly with us, without our discovery of their duplicity? It was a long and tortuous road and like most such roads, the search contained many curves. It started with an innocuous comment that Julia found in a ZPG chatroom.

   Yeah, a fricking chat room.

   “Captain Tarn?”

   “Julia,” I said as I finished the sentence I was writing before looking up. “You know I prefer a more relaxed atmosphere here in the office.”

   “Yes, Sir, I know, but Lieutenant Monroe bit my butt yesterday when I called her Danni during training.”

   “Oh, okay, what do you need, Analyst Ortiz?” I said as I smiled.

   “Daniel, that’s not fair,” she whined. “You know how the other Cadets have started calling me Anal Ortiz.”

   I chuckled and said, “Yeah, now that you mention it, I may have heard something like that.”

   She bristled and said, “From who?”

   “From you,” I said. “Otherwise, I would have never heard about it.”

   “Oh, I thought maybe Tony said something.”

   “Uh, oh, trouble in paradise?” I asked.

   “There is no paradise, he’s the jerk that started the Anal Ortiz crap.”

   “Damn, well, better to find out he’s a jerk now than down the road somewhere important. He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.”

   She smiled as she slid a sheet of paper across my desk and said, “Another reference to MS again.”

   I picked it up and read through it, “The chat room?”

   “Yeah, those idiot kids don’t realize the stuff they spill about what their parents are doing.”

   “Lucky us, any correlations?”

   “No, but I’m adding this to it.” She pointed to a name and said, “This guy here?” I nodded. “Rubin Cisneros, he’s the one that was bragging about his dad being head of Intelligence in Denver and also on the Enclave Leadership Council.”

   “Yeah, I remember. So, the mysterious MS again. I wonder who they are?”

   “Could be a group involved in intelligence gathering, or maybe an individual.”

   “What have you got so far?”

   “A lot of B.S. so far, and nothing we can latch onto. A few vague comments about MS being connected to the Mexico Communist Party, then another about being from a wealthy family down in South America, and a connection with intelligence there. Those are the most interesting. MS gets talked about a lot, but mostly from a childish boogeyman point of view.”

   “Explain.”

   “Apparently, MS was in charge of a youth camp in Peru and got a bit heavy-handed with some of the girls that were, shall we say, promiscuous?”

   “Heavy-handed in what way?”

   “Apparently, MS, had the letter ‘B’ branded on their left breasts.”

   “Why a ‘B’?”

   “Bicho. It’s sort of an exclamation like, oh, uh, you see a big bug and you shout Bicho! Oh, here you go, my grandmother sneezed really hard one time and a bunch of snot was hanging from her nose; my grandfather yelled, Bicho! really loud. It sort of means like, yuck! Or nasty, sort of. It’s kind of hard to translate.”

   “Were your grandparents from Mexico?”

   “Nah, my grandma was from Costa Rica and my grandad was from Venezuela and they met here in the States. Bicho is actually sort of an exclamation you hear from people from Venezuela.”

   “Keep that in mind while you research MS, there might be something we can use to narrow down who they are.”

   “Okay, but I’m leaning towards an individual in case you’re wondering and probably female,” she answered as she started to leave the office.

   “Wait,” I said. “Why female?”

   “MS was in charge of young women and they were from a militant feminist group. So, I’m guessing the person in charge of them would be a woman?”

   “Good point, stay with it.”

 

   We kept seeing references to MS and logging them in. Julia started concentrating on the topic whenever she could and finally came charging into my office with a stack of papers. “El Paso! And I was right! MS is a woman!”

   “Are you sure?” I asked.

   “Well, mostly, but I found a reference to MS as, she, and…”

   “From the chatroom?”

   “No, a communique from Cisneros to a group of ANTIFA in El Paso at UTEP, last year.”

   “UTEP? What’s that?”

   She frowned and said, “University of Texas, El Paso. How could you not know what UTEP is?”

   I shrugged, “I guess I was too busy making a living. What was the communication about?”

   “MS was taking over the chapter of ANTIFA and would be arriving at the beginning of the next semester.”

   “Good, that gives us a starting point. See if you can find a new student or transfer with the initials, MS, but you might begin with Hispanic surnames.”

   She just looked at me for a moment and then said, “Daniel, you do know that UTEP was almost 85% Hispanic, right?”

   “No, I didn’t, but we’re talking about what, several thousand maybe?”

   “Tens of thousands.”

   “Okay, but we’re still talking about new students or transfers. The transfers will be the fewest, so start with them and then go to new students.”

   “Well, okay, but geez, Daniel.”

   “Get Mike, or Carol to give you a hand, the radio transcriptions this week are a little light anyway.”

   “Okay.”

 

   We all stayed fairly busy that day and Maria brought our lunch like she usually does. I’ve taken to eating a salad for lunch when I can because Maria fixes Debra, Danni, and I dinner also. I’ve noticed my love handles are getting a little more noticeable; I’m going to start rising earlier so I can run and workout before work. God only knows how chubby I might be if Debra didn’t burn so many calories off me with sex.

   I was just beginning to start wrapping things up to close the office when Mike and Julia walked in. “What’s up, guys.”

   Julia said without preamble, “Mary Stevens.”

   “What?”

   “Mary Stevens, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Texas, El Paso.” She smiled as she added, “MS wasn’t a student, SHE, was a new Associate Professor.”

   “No shit! Great work guys! So, tell me what you know.”

   “She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Berkley, twenty-three years ago. After graduation, she joined the Peace Corp and travelled to Peru, where she taught young children English until she abruptly disappeared. Her disappearance was reported as a kidnapping at the time, but it was later discovered she had left willingly with the man who would eventually become her husband, Pablo San Martin of the San Martin Fisheries. He was killed during the run-up to the Socialist revolution in Venezuela, but she was some sort of leader in the counter-revolution. She was arrested and imprisoned because she supported the wrong socialist faction when the power struggles started. She disappears for an extended period of time and then shows up as a VP of Diversity for a group called A Sustainable Earth located in San Francisco. Somehow, she comes out of Venezuela with a doctorate in Political Science and teaches at Berkley for a short time and then transfers to UTEP. Then, she disappears. While at Berkley, she was Faculty Advisor to the ANTIFA chapter in Frisco and as we know, she also was in charge of ANTIFA at UTEP.”

   I started leafing through the papers they handed me and asked, “Any mention of an Intelligence background? Training, anything like that?”

   “Nope,” Mike said. “But she was out of the picture for a very long time, so, who knows?”

   “Photograph?”

   “Nothing,” Julia said.

   “Are you sure? When I was taking classes the professors always had pictures attached to their bios. Did you check that?”

   Mike nodded, “Yeah, I checked personally, no picture at either university.”

   “That’s unfortunate.” I stacked the sheets of paper neatly and said, “Good work guys, see you in the morning and we’ll hit it again.”

   They left and I sat at my desk as I went through what I had been told. Damn, no picture. Of course, that would have been too easy. I locked up my computer and papers and headed home.

   At the apartment, I changed from my uniform and hung it up for another day’s use. It didn’t make sense to me to wear a fresh one every day. If I was in the field and sweating? Sure, but I was behind a desk with AC cooling the room. I poked around the kitchen and finally settled on Maria’s corn chips and salsa for a snack. I opened a bottle of homebrew and, I guess I shouldn’t call the beer homebrew anymore; the Exchange staff started making it with Marvin’s and Dan’s help, but after Marvin was killed, they make it completely themselves. I don’t think it’s as good, but it’s good enough. Well, damn good, but not as good.

   I began thinking about MS, or Mary Stevens, and was wondering if a new angle could be worked on. After around ten minutes, I went to the phone and dialed the group phone at the women’s Old Worker’s Barracks; I wanted to speak with Julia. Apparently, she was in the showers and would be notified to return my call. I started pacing and was lost in thought when the door opened and Danni walked in.

   “Hi, Daniel, you’re pacing, Debra told me to look out for that.”

   “She did?”

   “Yeah,” she walked to the three gear racks we kept in the Livingroom and stripped off her equipment. “She said when you start pacing, she can see smoke come out of your ears.” She looked at me with her head cocked to the side and then said, “Nope, no smoke, but?”

   “We have a person we’re looking for over at Intelligence and we’ve made some headway, but not what I want.”

   “Any way I can help?” She finished putting her gear away and walked to the fridge, but saw my almost full beer bottle and fetched a glass instead.

   She started to pour into the glass and I said, “Sorry, Danni, but you’re going to be drinking after me if you do.”

   She smiled and poured anyway. “Sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

  I sat and scrubbed my face before I said, “MS.”

  She frowned and started to open her mouth when the door opened and Debra walked briskly in after slamming the door. She went to the gear racks and started placing her equipment on her stand, much the way Danny had. “That little fucker!” She grumbled before turning and saying, “There better be another beer in there!”

   “There is,” Danni said as she went to the fridge and pulled another bottle and then two glasses from the cupboard. She used the bottle I originally had opened and filled a glass she pushed to me, then opened the newer bottle and filled one for Debra. “So, who is the little fucker that has you incensed?” She asked as she pushed the glass to Debra.

   “A seventeen-year-old, first-class little cretin named Toby Tyler.” She lifted the glass to her lips and drank almost a third of it.

   “I guess he really lit your tailfeathers,” I said. “I can’t remember the last time we haven’t seen each other all day and you didn’t greet me with ‘Hi, Honey, I missed you!’”

   She sighed heavily and rose from her chair, gave me a kiss and whispered, “Hi, Honey, I missed you.”

   “Babe, I was kidding.”

   She smiled and said, “I’m not,” as she sat back down. “It’s a routine and I find solace in routines, especially the ones involving you.”

   “So, the little fucker named Toby, what’s he guilty of?” I asked.

   “He obviously wants to shag my ass and he’s about as subtle as a bass drum.”

   “Oh.”

   “First, I informed him that officers and trainees were forbidden any type of liaison. Then I told him he wasn’t my type; I preferred a man. Then I finally told him I was married, and you know what that little fucker said? Do you know what he said!”

   She was getting really pissed and even Danni scooted her chair back in anticipation of a true explosion as I said, “Uh, no?”

   “He said, you!” As she pointed at me with the hand holding the glass of beer. “Wouldn’t miss a slice out of the middle! A slice out of the middle! That little fucker called sex with me, a fucking slice out of the middle!”

   Danni had a slight glitch in her throat as she said, “Is he still alive?”

   “Unfortunately, yes. Ted grabbed me in a bear hug from behind, but I managed to plant the heel of my boot in his forehead. Then Thomas ran over and dragged him away.”

   I was speechless.

   “Well?” Debra said as she stared at me.

   I sputtered a bit and then said, “Uh, he has impeccable taste in women, but he needs to work on his pick-up lines?”

   Danni was in the process of sipping from her beer, but the guffaw that erupted from her blew a portion of the beer out of the glass and all over her face. The cold brew caused her to gasp, but then she started laughing hysterically.

   Through gritted teeth, Debra said, “Danni Lynn…”

   Oops.

   Someone started knocking on the door and I said, “Saved by the bell,” as I quickly rose and answered it to find Major Packer and Gilly waiting as they looked puzzled at the laughter. “Sir, would you and Mrs. Packer like a drink?”

   Gilly smiled and said, “I’ll have whatever Danni is having.”

   Debra frowned as Packer stepped in, looked at her, then at Danni and said, “Yeah, make that two.”

   I hurried deeper into the kitchen as Debra set an additional chair at the table and the Packers sat down. I took two glasses from the cupboard and another bottle of beer out of the fridge, then set them in front of the Major and his wife. Once Packer started pouring, I fetched a towel and handed it to Danni, which set her off again as Debra finally cracked a smile.

   “So,” Packer said. “Can I assume young Tyler might live another day?”

   “Maybe,” Debra said as her smile changed to a scowl. “If he can keep his fantasies in his bedroom, and between himself and a box of tissues.”

   “Oh, my!” Gilly stated and then burst into laughter the same time Danni did, again. “Debbie, you are priceless!”

   Debra finally broke out into a genuine smile and started to laugh also. She finally sobered up and said to Packer, “I guess I really screwed up, Sir, what kind of punishment am I looking at?”

   “Punishment? There’ll be no punishment for you; Mister Toby Tyler though, is going to rue the day he came here. I have one question for you, do you believe he is salvageable?”

   She took a deep breath and then released it between pursed lips, “Only he can determine that, Sir, but I will say this, Banner and Menendez say he is exceptional as a tracker, and Thomas says he has a lot of potential as a scout. I’ve been working with him on the rifle range and he was good when he arrived, but he’s done nothing but get better since he started.”

   Packer nodded and said, “Menendez talked to the young women and girls in his training group and they all say he hasn’t been a problem. He seems to be fixated on you. Do we want to keep working with him? Or send him home?”

   Debra sighed and then said, “Contaminated, maybe?”

   “He was home schooled and he was somewhere everyone refers to as Reserve, when Silver City was sprayed. He was on a hunting trip with his father who is also the minister of a small Baptist church.”

   “That’s good,” she said. She glanced at me for a moment and then said, “Maybe if he was introduced to my husband? Not in a threatening way, but so he could put a face on the name and rank?”

   “I have no objection,” he looked at me. “Daniel? Do you want to see if you can end the problem?”

   “I’m willing to give it a try if you think the boy is worth the trouble.”

   “He is showing promise and I’d rather he was shooting for us, than at us.”

   I nodded, “Okay, but It should be unrelated to the incident in question, maybe I can come up with…” The phone began to ring. “Excuse me, Sir, but I believe that’s one of my analysts retuning a previous call.”  He nodded to me and I picked-up the phone, “Hello?”

   “Daniel, it’s Julia.”

   “Hi, look, have you seen any reference in the transcriptions of either radio, or internet, traffic referring to the Hole? I don’t mean by that title, but anything referring to our location.”

   “Yeah, we’re referred to as the failed New Mexico Facility.”

   “Okay, tomorrow morning I want you to…” I stopped as I thought for a moment and then said. “You still attend the Cadets Morning Formations, right? Before you come to work?”

   “Yes.”

   “In the morning, meet me and my wife in the Ready Room before formation.”

   “Yes, Sir. Is there anything else?”

   “We’ll talk at work, Good night, Julia.”

   “Bye, Daniel.”

   I returned to the table and sat back down. “It’s possible I may be able to kill two birds with one stone,” I said.

  “Meaning?” Debra asked.

   “Julia Ortiz, as you know, is one of my analysts and she’s is a member of the Cadets. One of the boys in her unit thought it was cool to refer to her as Anal Ortiz.”

   Debra squirmed a bit and said, “Yeah, I remember those days.”

   “So, I’m going to dump some praise on her at tomorrow’s, Morning Formation, and send a signal to Toby Tyler at the same time.”

 

   The next morning, Debra and I were waiting in the Ready Room when Julia joined us.

   “Good Morning, Captain Tarn, good morning Lieutenant Tarn.” She gave us a snappy salute, which I returned.

   “Good morning, Ortiz. I asked you here because I wanted to prepare you for this morning’s formation. As you know, certain trainees amongst the Cadets receive provisional ranks for actions and efforts considered consistently excellent.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “Because of that practice, this morning I will be awarding you the rank of Provisional Sargent because of the outstanding work you have performed in the Intelligence Office; will you accept it?”

   “Oh, come on, Daniel, I can hear it now; Anal Ortiz, the brown noser!”

   “Cadet, Ortiz,” Debra said. “All of us are in uniform and conducting official military business; conduct yourself accordingly.”

   She straightened up and came to attention, “Yes, Lieutenant.”

   I smiled and said, “This was just a heads-up, Julia, I wanted you to be prepared to receive what you deserve. Now, hustle out there and join your team before Reveille.”

   “As you wish, Sir.” She snapped her hand up to salute and I returned it before she jogged out to join her team.

   “What do you think?” I asked Debra.

   “Could go either way. I can remember times when it didn’t turn out well for me.”

   “I hope I know what I’m doing, Debra.”

   She squeezed my hand and said, “So do I.”

   Gilly came out of the back hall and practically ran to us, “Here it is, straight from the embroidery machine!” She handed me a patch that had the word ‘Cadet’ and Sargent chevrons on it. “It has hook and loop on the back, so all you have to do is press it onto the patch in the center of her smock.”

   “Thank you, Gilly.”

   Debra said, “Reveille in five minutes, Hon.”

   “Right, let’s go.”

   We exited the Ready Room and then marched side-by-side to the front of sixty-two Cadets that were standing in two platoon formations. When we reached them, we both stopped, did an about face and faced the flagpole. Moments later, Reveille began to be played over the exterior loudspeakers and a detail of Cadets began to raise the flag. Debra and I raised our hands and saluted as it went up. This was something that the Major had reinstated after I had finished my Militia training, so it was the first time I had experienced it. Watching the flag of our once great nation being raised again, caused a visceral emotional reaction in me; I could feel my eyes beginning to grow wet.

   The flag reached the top of the pole as the last notes of the music ended and we concluded our salute, did another about face and gazed over the assembled Cadets. Debra, as one of the training cadre, spoke first. “Cadets! At ease!” They shifted from a position of attention and to one of at ease. “Before you leave morning formation for training, or work details, we have a guest who wishes to address you. May I present, Ranger Captain Daniel Tarn, Commanding Officer of the Intelligence Office.”

   I stepped forward and started, “Good morning, Cadets.” I paused for a moment and then continued. “You might wonder what the duties of an Intelligence Analyst could be. Though that information is classified, I can tell you it can often be considered a mind-numbing mental and physical grind. We work long hours and with little official recognition of our efforts, but the one thing we are proud of, is our record of finding, and ending, threats to our home, our friends, and our fellow citizens. As I said, we seldom are afforded recognition for our efforts, but today, one of our own will be recognized for that unfailing effort and the expertise she has demonstrated in the performance of her duties.” I paused again, and then said, “Cadet Julia Ortiz, front and center!”

   I had already located her in the ranks, so I shifted my face and watched as first, she hesitated, but then stepped forward, made a right face where she marched to the space that separated the two platoons, made a left face and marched forward until she stood before me. Raising her hand in a salute, she said loudly, “Cadet Ortiz, reporting as ordered, Sir.”

“Cadet Ortiz, in recognition of your unfailing dedication to your duty, for the efforts you have performed in the defense of the community, the Cadets, the Militia, and the Rangers, for your actions that have directly resulted in the defeat of three planned attacks on our home and people that would have certainly resulted in the deaths of many of our citizens, I hereby award you the rank of Provisional Sargent of the Cadet Corps, do you accept the honor and the responsibilities of the rank and position?”

   “Sir! Yes, Sir!”

   I reached into my shirt pocket and drew out the patch, after I showed it to her, I pressed it to the Velcro patch on the front of her Militia Smock and said, “About face, Cadet Ortiz.” She did an about face and stood before the assembled Cadets. “Ladies and gentlemen of the Cadet Corps, May I present, Provisional Sargent Julia Ortiz!”

   Debra shouted out, “Can we get a, Hooah?”

   “Hooah!” The assembled Cadets shouted.

   “Sargent Ortiz, about face,” She turned and faced me as I extended my hand, “Congratulations, Sargent, you may return to your unit.”

   She shook my hand and then snapped me a salute as she said, “Sir, thank you, Sir!” She marched back and resumed her place in the ranks.

   I paused for a moment and then continued, “Sargent Ortiz has an important position, but her job is not more important than any other work performed by the Cadet Corps. Each of you has a job serving the community we call home. Each of you must perform your assigned tasks to the best of your abilities. You may consider your position to be a small cog in a growing machine, but what happens when a small cog fails? The machine grinds to a halt. Do not be jealous of Sargent Ortiz’s success, instead, strive for your own.” I hesitated and then asked, “How many of you believe in a higher power? A power that will assess your life and its meaning, at the end of your days?”

   A few hands were raised, then a few more, and finally almost all of them. Peer pressure among the young can be a powerful force. I scanned the two platoons arrayed before me until my eyes rested upon the young man Debra had pointed out to me earlier. I pointed my finger at him and said, “You, Cadet, step forward.”

   He did and I said, “Do you believe in Our Lord Jesus Christ, do you believe in his father, the Lord our God?”

   “I’m the son of a Baptist Minister, Sir, I better!”

   A number of Cadets snickered or outright laughed, but Debra nipped it in the bud, “Silence in the ranks!”

   “So, tell me, son of a minister, can you recite verses?”

   “Not all of them, Sir, but my father is working on it.”

   “Book of Exodus, Chapter twenty, verse seventeen, are you familiar with it?”

   “Sir, yes, Sir!”

   “What’s your name, Cadet?”

   “Cadet Toby Tyler, Sir!”

   “Front and center, Cadet Tyler.”

   Tyler marched forward and stopped in front of Debra and I as his eyes skipped back and forth between our name tags. How he could have missed the similarities in our last names when I was introduced, I have no idea, but he certainly noticed it now. He swallowed, blinked his eyes slowly and then simply stared at the vicinity of my Captain’s bars as he saluted and said, “Cadet Tyler, reporting as ordered, Sir.”

   I returned his salute and said, “Why don’t you recite, Book of Exodus, Chapter twenty, Verse seventeen.” It wasn’t a question; it was an order.

   “You shall not covet…”

   “Not to me, Cadet, to the Morning Formation.”

   “Sir,” He performed an about face and loudly started, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wi…” His voiced squeaked as it broke and he went silent.

   I stepped forward and whispered into his ear, “Sometimes rote memory fails us, sometimes we need to memorize the meaning, instead of the words. Would you like to start again?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “When you’re ready, Cadet Tyler.”

   ‘“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”’

   “About face, Cadet.” He turned and faced me as I quietly said, “Training Instructor Lieutenant Tarn has decided to allow you to continue your training if you will agree to mind your manners. Do you agree to this?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “A wise decision, Cadet Tyler, I would regret the need to inform your father of why you were washed out. Return to Morning Formation.”

   He saluted me and said, “Sir, thank you, Sir.” He then turned and saluted Debra. “Ma’am, thank you, Ma’am.” She returned his salute and he returned to stand with his team.

   Once he was in the proper place, I resumed, “Do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor. Do not covet the accomplishments of your fellow Cadets, instead, earn your own. Once, the nation that is our home, was called a shining city on a hill. It was torn asunder by people who wish to remake, not only America, but the world, to fit their vision of political servitude. That nation has fallen along with the other nations of the world, but we are Americans and we kneel to no man, or adversity. Together we will regain our strength and once again raise other nations beside us, but we cannot do it if we covet that, we have not earned. Every one of you will be there when we rise to freedom again. The Individualist nature of the American people raised us to greatness once, and it will do so again, if we are willing to do the necessary work required. Stand tall Cadet Corps; greatness awaits each of us.”

   I stepped back and nodded to Debra as she stepped forward and shouted, “Morning Formation, Attenhut! Dismissed!” We waited as the cadets broke into groups and headed to where they were required to be. I noticed Julia striding towards the interior of the Hole flanked by a group of admirers and I wondered if one of the guys might be named, Tony.

   “Damn, Honey, have you ever considered a career in politics?”

   I shook my head as Julia disappeared into the bowels of the Hole, “I hate politics.”

   “All the more reason to get involved.” She stepped closer and smiled up at me.

   “Do you think I did any good?” I asked as I grasped her hand and started towards the Ready Room.

   “Well, Julia has a bevy of boys and girls oooing and awwwing over her, and I thought Tyler was going to shit when you growled in his ear, but what you saw this morning is the most respect he has ever shown me. We’ll see.”

   “I didn’t growl in his ear.”

   “The hell you didn’t.”

   “Did I?”

   She laughed and said, “I need to get to the range; I’m meeting a class this morning for field exercises, so give me a kiss.” I leaned down and kissed her, but as she jogged away, over her shoulder she mouthed, “Grrrr!”

   I just shook my head and headed for the Intelligence Office.

   When I arrived, Julia was talking sixty miles an hour as she related the mornings activities to Pina, Mike, and Carol, but as I walked through the door, she stopped, drew to attention and said, “Sir, may the Provisional Sargent speak freely?”

   “Granted.”

   She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around me, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! All the other cadets were blown out of the water and you should have seen Toby Tyler’s face when he was returning to his place in the ranks, he was white as a sheet! What happened? Why was he so scared looking? Why did he salute Debra? I mean Lieutenant Tarn? What did you whisper to him that caused him to start turning white? Why…”

   “Whoa there, Sargent, one question at a time and maybe later when we have our morning break. Okay, everyone, a little change in focus today. Key phrase, ‘failed New Mexico Facility,’ I want any term used in communications that can be attached to that phrase. After that, second key phrase, or more precisely, word. The word is ‘Asylum,’ have any information regarding those terms correlated and printed out by 9:30 am and bring it to my office for a conference. Let’s get to work people.”

   Pina spoke up and asked, “Are we dropping MS or Mary Stevens?”

   I thought for a moment and then said, “No. Pina, you keep working Mary Stevens. Carol, you take ‘failed New Mexico Facility, or just ‘New Mexico Facility.’ Mike, Julia, go with ‘Asylum.’” Everyone hit the keyboards and I hit my office chair after retrieving my computer from the safe. At eight o’clock, Banner called and asked me to check on Danni because she went home sick. I said I would, and went to the apartment immediately. Danni was lying on the couch and didn’t look good at all.

   “Danni? What’s wrong? Ted called and said you were sick; do you want me to take you to the clinic?”

   She shook her head and said, “No, I upchucked and I’m starting to feel better now. I think maybe that last burrito in the fridge went bad.”

    “Should I call Maria? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind…”

   “She was already here. She walked in and said something like, beecha, or something like that and bailed. Guess she has a weak stomach.”

   “Can I get you water? Tylenol, anything?”

   She nodded, “Water, please, my mouth tastes horrible.”

   “I’ve got you covered.” I went to the fridge and grabbed her a bottle of water, when I removed the lid and handed it to her she took a drink and then spit it out in a waste basket strategically placed beside the couch.

   “Oh, my, god, can you empty that into the toilet please? The smell is really bad.”

   I looked in and almost gagged when I saw what she had left in it. Picking it up, I took it to the bathroom, but I had to add water to make the contents fluid enough to be poured out. I turned on the vent, added some bleach to the wastebasket, then more water to slosh around and then dumped that as well. I gave her basket a brief and tentative sniff before returning the wastebasket to Danni’s side. “I sanitized it for you; do you want me to run you a bath? Take off your boots? Anything?”

   “If I wasn’t feeling so bad, I’d…uh…boots, please.”

   I untied her boots and slipped them off her feet, then I stripped off her socks. Reaching up, I began to release the riggers belt in her pants to loosen it, but she quickly grabbed my hands and said, “Don’t, things are difficult enough as it is.”

   “I just figured tight belt, upset stomach, you know.”

   “Of course, you did, Danny was the same way, always wanting to help. Thanks, Daniel, I’ve got it from here.”

   “You sure? I can…”

   “Really, I’ve got it, but if you could grab my bathrobe and leave it nearby, I’d appreciate it.”

   I fetched the robe, reminded her of the office phone number in case she needed anything and told her to call; I was only ten doors away. She nodded and then I left.

   At 8:30, Julia tapped on my door frame, “Daniel?”

   “Come in.”

   She entered, but was followed by Pina, Mike, and Carol. “I thought we were going to do this at 9:30?” I said.

   Julia’s eyes were wide with concern, “We couldn’t wait, Daniel, she’s here.”

   I looked out the windows and saw no one, “Who, is where?”

   Pina said, “MS, Mary Stevens, she’s here, in the hole, and she’s been passing information outside.”

   “Show me what you have.”

   I started going through sheets of paper as one after the other, each of them began to tell me what they had learned. When it finally came Carol’s turn, I glanced down at the papers in front of me as she leaned forward and then I was shocked by the report of a gunshot. I don’t think she realized what the report of a gun would sound like inside an enclosed room and it surprised her, it slowed her transition towards me. Pina sagged forward and her head bounced as it hit the surface of the table. Julia leaped from her chair and wrapped her arms around Carol’s chest and her upper arms trying to pin the gun hand, but Carol brought up the small pistol and fired a second round at me. I felt a slight tug under my left arm as I pulled my own sidearm, slipped the safety off and pointed it at Carol, but Carol twisted and brought Julia around between my weapon and herself as she fired another round in my direction. I rushed forward and swung the pistol over Julia and landed a heavy blow against the side of Carol’s head causing her to collapse on top of the conference table.

   “Son-of-a-bitch! What the hell! Someone in my own fricking office!?”

   Julia said, “Pina’s dead.” Her voice was trembling.

   “Mike?” I asked.

   “He ran out when Carol started shooting.”

   “Julia, Danni is home sick, she said Maria walked in as she was puking and said, bicha, but I think Danni meant bicho.”

   “Maria said she was from Mexico, but…Daniel, Maria Esteban in English is…”

   “Mary Stevens, I know!” I started for the door.

   “Daniel! What about Carol?”

    “Secure her!” I shouted.

   “With what?”

   As I was exiting the office, I shouted back, “Try a bullet to the head, it worked on Pina!” Outside, I didn’t slow down, I ran for the apartment as fast as I could. When I reached the door, I slowed and approached it cautiously, it was partially open. From inside, I heard Danni screaming, “You, Bitch! We trusted you!”

   I ran through and found Danni, wearing only an open bathrobe, astride Maria, Mary, pounding her face with both fists. I holstered my sidearm and rushed forward as I said, “Danni! Don’t kill her! We need her alive!”

   “The hell we do! She walked in here and said she was going to kill you, Daniel! She said with you gone, it would be easy to retake the facility!” She did stop punching her though as she looked up at me, “She said they were going to take out the whole leadership of the Hole, Daniel, everyone!”

   I went to the phone and dialed 9-1-1, then realized there was no dial tone, the phone lines were out. “Damn it! They’ve cut the phone service!” I said as I turned around. Danni had rolled Stevens over and was holding her arms pinned behind her. ‘I’ve got to warn the Major and Felicia!”

   “In my patrol pack, in the top lid, plastic restraints!” I opened the lid of the ALICE pack and removed a handful of plastic cuffs. She slipped a set over Stevens’ wrists just as the woman began to regain consciousness and start to struggle. Grabbing two handfuls of Mary’s blonde hair, Danni sharply smacked her forehead onto the linoleum floor, causing Stevens to once again, go limp. Settling back on her heels, she reached out and beckoned for another set of restraints, “I’ll hog-tie her and the bitch won’t be going anywhere.” I averted my eyes as I handed her the cuffs and Danni realized her robe was completely open and exposing her entire front. “Well,” she said. “I guess there’s no mystery about whether my natural hair color is white, or not.”

   “I guess not,” I said, “But Debra already told me, as she put it, the carpet matched the drapes.” Danni began pulling up Mary’s feet and looping the cuffs through the ones around her wrists. I indicated the third pair of cuffs and added, “I’m taking these with me to the office, Julia is holding another one of these assholes over there.”

   “They got through your security measures?” She seemed shocked.

   “No, she was one of my analysts.”

   “Go, I’m going to gear back up; come get me when you’re ready.”

   I went to my gear stand and grabbed a bandoleer of magazines and my bullpup, “I’ll be back in a minute.” I ran back to the office and found Julia sitting in the middle of the conference table astride Carol.

   “She giving you any trouble?”

   “No,” Julia said. “After I hit her in the head a couple of times with her own pistol, she decided to calm down and whimper and cry about how unfair life is.”

   I looked at Pina’s body and started to smolder, “Yeah? Well, she’s about to find out just how unfair death can be.” I kept her pinned as Julia slid off and then cuffed her hands behind her back. “Come with me, Julia.”

   I led Julia into the main portion of the office, then forced Carol down on the floor face down and set a chair from the waiting area on top of her. “Have a seat,” I told her. Julia sat in the chair as I said, “I’m going to bring Stevens over here for you to keep an eye on while Danni and I try to spread the word; all you have to do is shoot them if they give you any shit, okay?”

   “Got it.”

   I rushed back to my apartment and found Danni tying off her boots, “How are you feeling?”

   “Pissed.”

   “I’m talking about the nausea.”

   “So am I.” She lifted her M1a and said, “What about Miss Sunshine here?”

   “I’m going to have Julia watch her while we go hunting.” I reached down and grabbed one of Stevens’ upper arms as Danni grabbed the other, together we dragged her to the Intelligence Office as she at first started bitching about the manner we were dragging her knees and by the time we arrived, whining because we were hurting her unnecessarily. I was surprised by what was clearly a Valley Girl accent as she complained about her treatment and it sounded ludicrous from a woman her age. We left her in Julia’s care with the admonition to shoot to kill and keep the office locked until we returned. She said she would.

   After closing the door, I said, “We need to be in two different places, I’ll head for the Central Office and warn Felicia and Dak. You head for the Major and send me reinforcements, okay?”

   “Damn straight, I’ll see you soon, okay?”

   “You bet.”

   I began a fast jog in the direction of the entrance to Phase Three; Central Office was in the old Marlow residence in Phase Four, I had a way to go and I didn’t know how much time I had to do it. I began looking everywhere for a cart I could commandeer and finally located a laundry cart at the end of one of the residential alleys. I approached it as one of the sanitation workers threw another bundle of laundry into the back and got in to move farther into the alley.

   “Stop!” I shouted. The driver braked as I ran up beside the vehicle and breathlessly said, “We are under a concerted attack and I need your cart, bail out.”

   “What?” She asked.

   “This is an emergency! The leadership of the Hole is under attack and I need to get to the Central Office to warn the Governor, now get out!”

   “I’m a Militia member, Captain, get in and I’ll drive you!” I ran to the passenger side of the cart and sat down. She put the cart in reverse and backed out of the alley and then accelerated towards the door to Phase Four. “I don’t have a weapon with me, Captain Tarn, but I’m qualified with a handgun, or rifle. If you loan me one of yours, I’ll get it back to you!” I hesitated, but then drew my Ruger and placed it on the seat next to her, then my two spare fifteen round mags. “Thank you, Sir!”

   “What’s your name?”

   “Nancy Norton, Sir.”

   “Okay, listen up, the attack began minutes ago, so I’m hoping it hasn’t gotten to Central Office yet. Be very wary of anyone armed and not wearing a uniform, do you understand?”

   “Yes, Sir!”

   “Stick close to me, you’re not in uniform, so let’s try and avoid a friendly fire incident, okay?”

   “When we stop, I might be able to fix that; one of my pickups this morning is a guy in my squad and he always puts his smock in the wash the day after training. I’ll check and see if it’s in there.”

   We entered Phase Four and I stayed on Level One instead of dropping down to Level Two where the main entrance was; we would use the service entrance on One. After entering Level One, Norton drove part way to the Central Office and started to slow down.

   “Should we approach with caution, or go in like gangbusters?”

   “Speed is important, but there’s not much sense running into an ambush either; park the cart.”

   She pulled to the side and stopped as I exited and brought my bullpup up to my shoulder at a low ready, “Hang on!” She said as she started tossing laundry bags out of the back. She quickly located the bag she was searching for, opened it and withdrew a Militia smock which she pulled over her head and then secured the belt around her waist. “Whew! I’m going to have to take a shower after wearing this thing!”

   “Ready?” I asked.

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “I’ll take the lead; you cover our six.”

   “Yes, Sir.” I began rapidly walking towards the Central Office in a crouch with the bullpup pointed ahead of me, and then Norton said from behind me, “Uh, Sir, you realize you’re bleeding, right?”

    “Yes.”

    “Oh, okay, I was just wondering.”

   We reached the door of the service entrance and stopped. The door had been patched from the first time we had been forced to break in when the search was on for Becker, but the locking pins had never been replaced because we didn’t have the parts for it. Facilities had mounted a simple drop-in-place bar on the inside that prevented the door from being opened from the outside. I motioned Norton forward to the door as I went down to one knee and aimed, “When you’re ready, open the door as fast as you can and stand behind it, it’s bullet-proof.”

   She placed her hand on the lever and then pushed down and tried to pull on the door, it was barred from within, “Damn it!” I said. From within, I faintly heard several muffled gun shots. “Alright, let’s get down to Level Two and see if we can…” I stopped talking as I heard noises from the door and re-aimed at it. It suddenly burst open and two men scrambled out and then froze as they stared at the muzzle of the bullpup.

   “We’re comms, we’re comms!” One of them said. I motioned them to the right and then had them kneel down, put their hands behind their heads and cross their ankles. “Captain Tarn, you know us! We see you all the time when you come for the radio scripts!”

   “Yeah,” I said. “I also knew the person who tried to kill me twenty minutes ago.” I turned to Norton, “Keep them here and keep them covered.” I turned back to the man who had spoken, “How many attackers?”

   “Four, I recognized two of them, they work in the cafeteria and bring us coffee and snacks every day.”

   As he answered, another man stepped into the interior hall that led to the door they had just escaped from, when he saw me, he aimed the handgun he carried and started to fire, but I put two rounds into him before he could squeeze the trigger. “You two!” I pointed at the parked laundry cart and said. “Take that cart and head for the Ranger Bunker, tell anyone you meet coming here, what you told me! Hurry up! Go!”

   Both of them took off at a run as I stood and moved into the open doorway. I looked at the man I had shot and then said, “Norton, he’s wearing another one of those red armbands. If you see someone wearing the same thing, shoot to kill.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   I slowly started down the hall as I strained my hearing, but there was nothing, no sound what-so-ever. Stopping before the corner, I stole a glimpse around it and almost had my eye shot out, “Fuck!” Other than the single individual wearing an armband, there had been no one else, so I extended my hands and fired half a magazine in the area I thought the man would be. As I fired, Norton stepped past me and fired several rounds.

   “Ceasefire, Captain, he’s down!”

   I stepped around the corner and said as she stepped forward beside me, “Dangerous move there, Norton.”

   “Maybe, but I figured he would be busy trying to find cover; which he didn’t.”

   I nodded ahead and said, “It’s quiet up here, according to the two comms guys, there should be two more of them, watch yourself.”

   “Yes, Sir, shall I take the lead?”

   “Nooo, I’ve got it,” I said a little irritated.

   “Sir, everyone knows how important you are, apparently everyone, but you. Drop the macho bullshit and let me take the lead.”

   “That’s a double fucking negative, resume your position in the file; what there is of it.” I started into the room and saw we were adjacent to the stairs leading down to Level Two. At the bottom were two bodies, both were comms people I had seen before.

   From below, I heard a woman’s voice mutter softly, “Don’t move, don’t even think about it.”

   I stepped out for a quick look and then back as two bullets impacted the wall behind where I had been. The woman below, wearing a red armband, had her left hand wrapped in the collar of Dak Sorensen’s shirt. I turned to Norton and said, “See the elevator?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “Get over there, and push the call button, if it’s already on this floor, push the button for Two and send it down. If it’s not, when it arrives, do the same, understand?” She nodded. “Stay low, so she doesn’t see you from down there.” She nodded again and quickly crawled away.

   “Hey!” I shouted. “I think there’s been enough shooting and killing, how about we talk a bit?”

   She shouted back, “I’ll talk, you listen! I’m taking this son-of-a-bitch with me, anyone tries to stop me, you lose the Governor’s husband, am I clear?”

   “Surely you want more than just to escape? Let’s talk about it, no one else needs to die!” To my left, I heard the elevator ding and the doors open, “I’m going to come down and we can negotiate face-to-face, just hold your fire and we can all walk away.”

   “Who are you? How do I know you have any authority?”

   “I’m Captain Daniel Tarn, I think you know the name, am I right?”

   There was a pause, and then she said with an entirely different tone, “Yeah, I know you, come down, please.”

   The doors of the elevator began to close and I said loudly, “I’m coming now!” I rose up to one knee and switched on the laser on the bullpup, then I waited until I heard the elevator car ding its arrival and the doors start to open below. There was a sudden flurry of gunfire as I stood and aimed downwards. She was firing into the opening doors as I placed the dot of the laser on her jawbone and fired three rapid shots. The first bullet impacted the hinge of her jaw, the second passed through her cheekbone, and the third passed through her skull and brain. As she started a boneless collapse, Dak snatched the handgun from her loose grip, spun around and emptied what was left in the magazine at a point in the room I couldn’t see. Dropping the gun, he rushed out of the line of my sight.

   I ran to the stairs and started down as Norton joined me, but she stopped on the mid-floor landing and swept the area with my Ruger, “We’ve got one still moving!” the Ruger barked and then she shouted, “Clear!”

   When I reached the bottom, Dak was scrambling out of a closet with a large first aid kit which he dropped beside one of the prone people on the floor. As he turned her over, I realized it was Felicia. “Fel! Fel! Come on Baby! Look at me! Fel!”

   I dropped to my knees beside her and seeing the growing stain on the front of her blouse, I ripped the front open and saw the small hole below her right breast that was leaking blood and bubbles. “Dak! Pressure bandage! Now!”

   He started fumbling through the kit saying, “Oh, God!” over and over.

   Norton knelt down and said to Dak as she pushed him away, “I’m training to be a combat medic, Sir, this I know how to treat; please move aside!” Turning to me, she handed me a set of shears as she said, “Lose the bra!”

   I hooked my finger between the cups, pulled it up, sliced through it, and flipped the cups away. She had a wad of gauze she placed over the wound and said, “Pressure!” I pushed down as she turned away again and withdrew another sealed item. Ripping it open, I saw it was an adhesive, self-sealing, plastic cover for the gauze, “Move your hands!” I did and she applied the plastic seal over the wound.

   I heard noise from above and pointed my carbine towards the head of the stairs, but thankfully, it was Danni who appeared with her M1a at her shoulder pointing down at us, several other Rangers joined her as I shouted upwards, “We need a medic and a crash cart, now!”

   Danni began running recklessly down the stairs as she said, “No, no, no, no!”

   I looked around and saw Peterson, a ranger who is normally a radio operator in the field, “Peterson! Check out the radio systems and see if they’re off-line, if they are, get them up and running!”

   “Sir!”

   “Marrken!” Another ranger, “Secure the Level One entrance! Anyone with a red armband, shoot the fucker!”

   “Sir!”

   I glanced around and told two more rangers to open and then guard the Level Two entrance before turning back to Danni and Norton, “How is she?”

   Danni looked up from checking what Norton had done already, “Sucking chest wound is never good, but if we get her in to the clinic and surgery, she should be good to go.”

   Dak looked up and said, “Should be?”

   Danni grabbed his hand squeezed, “Will be!”

   He nodded and went back to cradling Felicia’s head. “She, Fel, she saved my life. They were going to shoot me, but she ran into me and knocked me out of the way and they shot her instead. I guess they figured they’d hang onto me after that. If they couldn’t use the Governor to escape with, maybe the Governor’s husband might work. The woman,” he glanced at her corpse. “She was fricking crazy and I mean crazy. She kept talking about being a hero of the revolution, that her memory would live through the ages; where do they find these idiots?”

   Danni shook her head and said, “God only knows,” she paused and then pointed at the left side of my camo shirt. “Daniel, that better not be your blood.”

   I lifted my left arm, gazed at the blood stain and sighed, “Oh, yeah, I got shot, again.”

   Peterson, from where he was checking radios, laughed softly and said, “The legend continues.”

   “I noticed it earlier,” Norton said. “And brought it to his attention, but…” She trailed off as I shook my head ‘no’ at her. She busied herself with other things.

   “Show me,” Danni said.

   “Danni…”

   “If Debra sees that, and I haven’t even put a bandaid on it…”

   I thought I heard a hitch in her voice and said, “Lieutenant Monroe, compose yourself.”

   She nodded and then turned away, “Yes, Sir.”

   There was a distinct inflection of disappointment, so I quickly added, “Look, Danni…”

   She cut me off without looking at me, “Either, or, Captain, but not both in the same conversation.”

   I scooted next to her and whispered, “Let’s try the option where I don’t hurt your feelings, okay?” She nodded without looking at me. “I hate it when I do something that causes, you, or Debra to be disappointed in me.” She turned her head and looked me in the eyes, “When you guys get pissed at me, I usually deserve it, I accept I screwed up, resolve to try harder and carry on, but when I hurt you, it kills me inside.”

   Her eyes started getting moist and then she softly said, “Do you mean that, Daniel, really mean that?”

   I nodded and said, “Yes.”

   She became all business and said, “Show me.” As she pointed to my bloody shirt. I removed the sling of my carbine, my bandoleer, my duty belt, and then started unbuttoning my shirt. When I had it off, she grabbed my tee-shirt and pulled it up as I held my left arm level with my shoulder. “Small entrance wound, but not .22 caliber. No deflection in the bullet path, a .22 probably would wander around some. No exit wound, definitely not .22 Long Rifle and I can’t remember the last time I even saw a .22 Short.” She gently probed the path of the wound channel from the outside and finally said, “Yeah, there it is, it’s embedded in the scar tissue from your last, ‘Oh, yeah, I got shot.’”

   Peterson laughed a little louder this time, “Peterson?” I asked. “Is there something humorous about someone walking around with a bullet in them?”

   He glanced around at the bodies, and Felicia unconscious on the floor, her body struggling for breath, “Sometimes, Sir, humor is all we have, otherwise, I don’t know, maybe we might want to just give up.”

   I nodded, “Yes, I see your point, carry on, Peterson.”

   “Sir.” Military protocol, it gives structure in an unstructured world.

   One of the men at the front door leaned in and said, “Sir, the crash cart is here.”

   I nodded and said, “Let’s get Felicia ready for transport.”

   Danni nodded and Norton assisted in getting Felicia ready. Two EMTs entered the Central Office with a stretcher and set it down next Felicia before hooking her up with an IV and an oxygen mask. They quickly loaded her up and drove away with Dak in tow. I turned to Danni and asked, “Danni? I’ve been afraid to ask; is Debra okay?”

   “Should be, she took a team of trainee snipers out for a class on building expedient sniper nests. She probably doesn’t even know something has happened.” Danni produced a chair and directed me to sit backwards in it; as I crossed my arms and leaned on the backrest, she proceeded to work on my wound. “This is going to hurt, but it’s better than leaving it untreated for god knows how long while the real doctors work on the more serious wounded.”

   “I understand, just don’t give me a suture by suture description of what you’re doing, okay?”

   “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

   I stared out across the room without focusing on anything; I couldn’t see what she was doing, but suddenly my side began stinging like a bitch. “Son-of-a-bitch! Okay, never mind! Tell me what’s coming so I can brace for it!”

   Calmly, Danni said, “Make up your mind.”

   “I just did! Tell me!”

   “Okay, that was alcohol to disinfect it.” After a moment she said, “What’s your name?”

   Norton answered, “Nancy Norton, Lieutenant, I’m training in the Militia to be a combat medic.”

   “Well, from what I’ve seen so far, you’re doing quite well. Hold this right here…Good.” Then Danni reached around and started wrapping my chest with a roll of gauze.

   “You’re done?” I asked.

   Danni leaned forward and said, “Yeah.”

   “What about the bullet? Doesn’t it have to come out?”

   She laughed and said, “Number one, this isn’t an old B grade western movie. Number two, I’ve had basic and advanced combat wound training, but I’m not a surgeon, so no, I’m not going to cut the bullet out of you.”

   “Oh, well, why didn’t you say so to begin with?”

   She leaned forward and looked at me face to face, “Were you really going to trust me to cut out a bullet? With no anesthesia?”

   “Well, yeah, I mean, why not?”

   Peterson broke out laughing, “Oh, man! Wait till I tell that one at the pub and I won’t even have to exaggerate! The funny thing is, everyone is going to believe it! Priceless!”

   I shook my head and said, “Good grief,” as Danni handed me my shirt and I started slipping it on with her help. Danni softly laughed and then handed me my camo uniform shirt, so I could put it on. A crew from sanitation arrived and I pointed out the dead that were ours and the ones that weren’t. I noticed they treated ours with respect, the others were wrapped in plastic sheeting and unceremoniously dumped in a trailer behind their crew cart. I wondered if they would be buried, or incinerated like the ones from the battle.

   Norton, Danni and I walked upstairs and then started for the exit to Phase Three. Norton handed me my sidearm and magazines, and then stripped off the borrowed Militia smock. “Damn, I’m glad to get that off,” she said. “I wonder where my work cart is at?”

   “At the Bunker,” Danni said. “We’ll need to walk the whole way.”

   “Crap.”

   “We need to stop at the Intel Office and pick up Stevens and Parker,” I said. “Julia must be getting a little anxious by now.”

   “The Major sent a team to take care of it,” Danni replied. “She’s probably at the Bunker by now.”

   “Okay, let’s pick up the pace a bit, I’m kind of looking forward to interviewing Maria.”

   Danni nodded, “You’re not the only one,” she said. “I want to know why she thought she could pull this whole thing off. It almost seemed like a spur of the moment operation.”

   “It probably was,” I said. “Parker must have let her know somehow we were getting close.”

 

   The Major was truly pissed. When the team that tried to take him out arrived, they killed three unarmed rangers in the Ready Room and then shot at Gilly also. Surprisingly, they considered Gilly the spiritual leader of our community and saw her as a threat because of it. Naturally, Packer himself was a target, but the attackers misjudged his and Gilly’s abilities. Packer killed two of them and Gilly shot one. The rest were taken out by Danni when she arrived to warn Packer. Head shots, every single one.

   Gilly and the Major seemed shaken by the whole episode, especially Gilly; she was the one who recommended Maria as my babysitter to begin with. I have to give it to Stevens; she did an excellent job of fooling a lot of good people. The thing I found the most interesting, was when I went to where they were being held and looked inside. Carol was looking her normal introverted self, but Stevens was totally the opposite of how I thought she would act. I guess I still expected Maria; a testament to how good she was at worming her way into people’s lives.

   She saw me looking through the wire mesh reinforced window of the room they were locked in and approached the glass. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You think you can stand there and scowl, and we’ll quiver in fear. I know how this crap works; you need us as future bargaining chips in case we capture some of you. You want something to trade when it comes time, so don’t even think you can intimidate us. We will tell you nothing, nothing!”

   I gazed at her forehead and said, “That’s a nasty bump you’re sporting there, do you need a medic to treat that for you?”

   “It’s exactly what I would expect from a bunch of low-brow reactionaries like yourself. You don’t have the intelligence to realize how out of your depth you are. Do you think you can torture us like the pack of Nazis you are? Go ahead! Torture us, rape us! It doesn’t matter to us because we will be martyrs for the cause!”

   “Make up your mind Stevens, are we going to keep you in comfort for the future? Or are we going to rape and torture you?’ Behind her I could see Parker’s reaction to everything Stevens was saying. Parker was unhappy with Stevens giving us ideas on how to treat them.

   I turned to Packer and asked softly, “Do we have somewhere we can isolate Parker? Somewhere they can’t interact?”

   “Yeah, we’re getting another room ready as we speak.”

   “Good, I don’t think we want them communicating with each other.” I thought for a moment and then said. “Can we set something up on the loading dock where they can see out?”

   “It might take a while, what are you thinking?”

   “I’m wondering what their reaction would be if they could sit in a cell and watch us build a set of gallows?”

   Packer smiled as he said, “I really like the way you think. I’ll get on it, but the accommodation will necessarily be rather primitive.”

   “Good, maybe a bucket to crap in and no privacy, night or day? The nights are getting cool, maybe a single light wool blanket, so it itches when they sleep with it? No cot, just a pad on the concrete?” I thought some more and said, “Maybe we give them some comforts and every time they become disagreeable, we take a comfort away?”

   “Better and better, Daniel, better and better.”

   From inside the room, Stevens shouted, “Where’s my lawyer? We have the Constitutional right to legal representation!”

   I smiled and said, “Mary, you have it all wrong. This entire facility is a military installation and because of that, you will be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It’s not conducive to the expression of Constitutional Rights.” I waved as I turned away, but then stopped and said, “You murdered civilians under the protection of the military, on a military installation. You murdered military personnel, on a military installation. The penalty for your crimes is capital in nature, but you are given some leeway in the manner of your execution. You can be hung with hemp rope, or piano wire, your choice.” I smiled and walked away with Packer by my side.

   When we were out of sight, the Major said, “Most of what you told them isn’t true.”

   “I didn’t think it was, I was just fertilizing the garden with fear. Do you think it worked? Plus, I’m willing to bet she’s never even seen a copy of the UCMJ.”

   Packer just smiled.