“I wish we could use ER for training, now,” Herzer said. “I’ve never been in free-fall and neither has anyone on the team as far as I’m aware. And speaking of teams…” he added musingly. “I’m authorized to recruit in the Blood Lords for the replacement fighters on this mission. Given the security group here, and at Blackbeard, there aren’t many that are available. But your company is right here, already…”
“Oh, crap,” the captain said, shaking his head. “We can’t be pulling security all night and training all day. I won’t even go into the whole: ‘shouldn’t you ask for volunteers?’ thing. I’ll volunteer in a heartbeat; I’ve always liked fighting in space. But the rest of the company…”
“They volunteered twice,” Herzer said. “First for the legions, then for the Blood Lords. Why ask a third time?”
“How caring of you,” the captain said, grinning.
“Apparently a lot of the trainers got killed along with the team,” Herzer said. “So don’t be surprised if you get press-ganged as a trainer. And I want you to go talk to Angus Peterka over in Building Seventeen. Use the back door and tell him I sent you…”
“That’s a blue zone building,” Buskirk pointed out. “I’m only cleared for purple.”
“Not anymore,” Herzer intoned.
“Shanea, you’ve met Courtney before,” Megan said, as the girl came into her room.
“Hey,” Shanea said, smiling. “Good to see you again.”
“Shanea, do you have any experience with children?” Megan asked carefully.
“I had a younger brother,” Shanea said, her face suddenly creasing in an unusual frown. “I don’t know what happened to him, you know?”
“You took care of him?” Courtney asked.
“A little,” the girl said. “Me and the nannies. And Mom,” she said quietly.
“The problem is, Courtney has to do some training,” Megan said. “And she has some children here. Could you watch them? One of them’s a baby so you’re going to have to change diapers…”
“Oh, sure!” Shanea said, smiling happily. “I like kids. I want some myself. I kept hoping that Paul would get me pregnant so I could have a baby, but he never did.”
Courtney’s face twitched at that and she carefully didn’t look at Megan.
“Great,” Megan said, smiling blankly. “Courtney, why don’t you go introduce Shanea to your children while I go see if I can help Herzer? The replacement personnel are coming in and I foresee some problems there.”
Chapter Fifteen
Linda was frowning in her mirror when there was a knock at the door. Ever since the debacle with Herzer Herrick, Shamon had been a bit less friendly. He still was maintaining the apartment but she suspected it was time to start shopping for a new “friend.” However, Duke Dehnavi was out of town at his country home at the moment, so she had time to look around and certainly wasn’t expecting visitors.
She stood up and put on a robe, hair up and makeup half done, and went to the door. Whoever it was, they could damned well see her like this. Maybe it would scare them off.
The “visitors” turned out to be two Federal Rangers, one male and one female, in light leather armor.
“Miz Linda Donohue?” the male officer asked, consulting a clipboard.
“Yes?” she replied uncertainly. Shamon probably had enough power to have her arrested or detained, but she couldn’t imagine what the charge would be. And she hadn’t thought he was that pissed off.
“Miz Donohue, you’re being temporarily detained under the War Powers Act,” the officer said, stone faced. “Could you change into comfortable clothing, pack enough clothes for approximately three days in no more than one bag and come with us?”
“What is this about?” Linda said, her eyes widening. “I haven’t done anything!”
“Ma’am, I do not know,” the officer said, gesturing at the female officer. “Ranger Varnicke will remain with you while you prepare.”
“I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me what I’m charged with!” Linda snapped. “I’ve got powerful friends, buddy, you can’t just up and snatch me out of my apartment!”
“Ma’am, you’re not charged with anything,” Varnicke said placatingly. “And we don’t know why you’re being detained. Our orders are to pick you up, take you to a colonel at the War Department and then pick up two more people.”
“And as for your friends,” the still unnamed male officer said bluntly, “you’ll be permitted to contact someone once you reach the War Department but you’re to communicate with no one while you are in detention. Now, please prepare to leave.”
Stunned, Linda let herself be led into her own apartment by Ranger Varnicke while the male remained outside, presumably on guard. Varnicke helped her pack while Linda finished her makeup.
She was taken through Washan in a closed, and stuffy, carriage, to an outlying building at the sprawling headquarters. There she was turned over to a Blood Lord soldier who escorted her to a windowless room with only one door in which three other people waited.
“Does anyone know what is going on?” she asked, dropping the leather satchel with all she currently possessed at her feet and sitting in a hard-backed chair.
“No idea,” a man said, running his eyes over her. “But the view’s certainly improved.”
Linda snorted and examined her fellow travelers. Two of them had to be well over a hundred, one of the two having the look of someone who spent most of his time in a day-labor job.
“Where are you from, miss?” one of the older men asked. “We’re all from Raven’s Mill but I don’t recognize you.”
“I’m from here,” she said, shrugging. “I lived near Washan… before, you know? And I moved here.”
“What do you do, miss?” the one that looked like a day laborer asked.
“I’m a secretary,” she said, shrugging. “I work in a duke’s office.”
“Lucky duke,” the man who’d commented on the view said.
That apparently exhausted the fund of small talk available and they sat in silence for an extended period of time. There was no way to determine how long but the wait seemed interminable. Linda spent her time mentally composing the note she was going to send to Dehnavi.
Finally the door opened and the same Blood Lord that had escorted her to the room gestured from the opening.
“That’s apparently it, for now,” he said. “If you’d please come with me?”
“Where are we going?” Linda snapped. “I was told I could send a note to someone telling them where I’d disappeared to.”
“You’ll get a chance,” the Blood Lord said. “Later. Come with me, please. If you see anyone you recognize, just smile and wave. No talking or discussion.”
There were three more Blood Lords waiting for them and the group was escorted around the edge of the War Department zone and to a portal in another enclosed room.
“Where in the hell are we going?” Linda snapped, balking at the portal.
“Seventh Legion’s camp,” the lead Blood Lord answered. “Enter the portal, ma’am.”
Linda gritted her teeth and stepped through after the other three. There was another group of Blood Lords on the far side standing in a three-sided shed. From it, the bustle of the Legion camp could be observed and Linda noticed that there was some sort of inner camp with a gate just down the street.
“Manuel Sukiama?” the sergeant in charge of the group asked.
“Here,” one of the older men said.