She was only a month or so from having the baby now, round and awkward and constantly battling between her seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm and her need to take things easy. She wanted to help, but at his insistence she settled on their bed while he tidied himself up.
“This is like staring at a buffet I can’t eat,” she teased at one point.
He gave her a slightly incredulous look as he tried to put on his shirt. With the bruises from the gunshot it turned out to be more difficult than he’d expected. “This isn’t exactly the best time for that.”
“Duh.” She pushed heavily to her feet and came over to help him, motioning for him to stoop so she could get behind him and finagle his arms into the sleeves. As he worked with the buttons she popped up his collar and started tying his tie, talking as she did. “I can’t wait to get this little guy or gal out so I don’t have to be pregnant anymore.”
He patiently let her finish the knot and arrange it properly, smiling wryly. “Yeah, I don’t think you’re going to be feeling too frisky for a while after that.”
Sam lightly punched him, careful to avoid the bruised area. “I meant in general. This magical experience has a lot of unmagical parts to it.” She helped him into his suit jacket and smoothed the collar after he buttoned it.
“As opposed to caring for an infant that wakes up every few hours?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” His wife rested one hand over her round belly. “The rascal’s already driving me crazy with all the kicking.”
“That probably means a boy, right?” Matt asked.
“Dr. Maggy doesn’t want to say one way or another.” Sam stepped back and looked him over, then whistled softly. “Wow hot stuff. Your wife must have to chase the other ladies off with a stick.”
“Not in her condition. And she’s looking pretty good herself.” He leaned down to give her a long kiss.
Which of course was interrupted by the defender on far patrol to the west reporting in through his headset. “Military convoy approaching.”
Sam felt him tense and pulled back. “He’s here?” she guessed.
“Looks like it.” Taking his wife’s hand, he started out the door and towards the north end of town. Neighbors popped their heads out doors as he passed, and he sternly waved them back into their houses.
Once they reached the people gathered to receive their visitor Sam squeezed his hand and broke away and join the town leaders, while Matt gathered up Lucas, Chauncey, Catherine, and Deb. They stepped forward to meet the vehicles coming down the western slope, Chauncey slightly awkward on his prosthetic leg.
The military convoy rolled right up to them, the lead vehicle stopping only ten or so feet away. Matt tensed slightly at that, although he was comforted knowing how many defenders were in position to cover him if, God forbid, things turned unpleasant.
A man fitting Lucas’s description of Colonel Grimes hopped out of the lead truck, and when Matt glanced back at the older man he got a confirming nod. The colonel stepped forward alone to meet them, which seemed like a good sign.
“Colonel Grimes,” Matt said formally, offering his hand. “I’m Matthew Larson, Mayor of Aspen Hill.”
“Mayor,” the colonel replied gruffly, returning a firm grip. “I’d heard you were young.”
Matt ignored the unspoken judgment in the words as he turned to the four people with him. “Allow me to introduce Catherine Tillman, who served as Mayor before me. She’s providing invaluable insight based on her considerable experience. Lucas Halsson you already know. And this is Chauncey Watson, our town’s radio expert, and Debra Rutledge, one of the town’s defenders.”
Grimes nodded and prepared to speak, but Matt hastily continued. “Chauncey and Lucas have prepared a report for you, everything we have on what’s been going on in the area since Major Rogers sent the refugees our way without consulting us. They’ve used radio communications, reports from our defenders and townspeople, and eyewitness testimony from a few other residents in the area that Aspen Hill aided when they faced the threat of banditry. They’ve also accumulated a modest amount of video, photographic, and audio evidence.”
That took the colonel aback. “You have that sort of evidence these days?”
“Our town has enough solar panels to run a few essential electronics. Including smart phones, which is enough for most things. And I’m willing to attest that this evidence, as well as the other information provided by these two gentlemen, is true to the best of our knowledge, and comes from reliable sources.”
Grimes paused for just a moment, then nodded reluctantly. “I’m eager to finally hear Aspen Hill’s side of things,” he said to the two men. Then he turned an expectant gaze on Deb, waiting to hear what she was doing there. The brown-haired woman cringed slightly at his attention, then staunchly straightened to her full medium height. She was still a bit pale after yesterday’s ordeal, but looking well rested at least.
Matt’s tone turned grim as he finished the introduction. “And Deb is the last surviving member of the patrol that was ambushed yesterday afternoon. She’s agreed to give you a full account of the attack. We also have photos of the crime scene and the victims. We already performed funeral services and buried our people, as you can understand.”
The senior officer nodded to her as well, much more gravely. “My condolences, ma’am,” he said. “I regret it took the deaths of your companions to finally bring this matter to my attention.”
Bring the matter to his attention. As if Aspen Hill hadn’t sent a delegation directly to the man asking for help, and Chauncey hadn’t been talking himself hoarse over the radio trying to get someone, anyone, on Grimes’s end to do or even say anything. The colonel had apparently already learned the lesson Catherine had taught Matt about never admitting guilt by saying sorry.
Before Matt could think of a response the colonel curtly motioned to him. “Before we begin I’d like to have a word in private, Mayor.”
“Of course,” Matt said. He motioned to a bench outside a nearby house, just a roughly smoothed log sitting on two stumps, and led the way over to offer a seat, then sat down himself ready to hear the man out.
Grimes dove right into it. “I’ll be frank, Mayor. While you do have my sympathy for the loss of your people, the reason I’m here is because of your openly, and might I add loudly, stated intent to go after the men who killed them.”
So you don’t mind when we die, but you come running when the people attacking us might come to harm, Matt thought bitterly. He knew that wasn’t entirely fair, since what the colonel was probably worried about was the eruption of large scale violence in the area. Still Aspen Hill had plenty of reason to be justifiably angry and Matt was less and less inclined to excuse the man.
While he was silently fuming Grimes had continued. “I think you can understand that, angry as your people might be, I need you to hold off on taking action against the camp harboring these men. Let the military handle it.”
Matt took a breath to steel himself. Angry as he was, he didn’t look forward to what was coming next. He decided to ease into it. “With all due respect, Colonel, we haven’t received any responses to our requests for aid, instruction, or arbitration. In the meantime those bandits butchered four people whose duty was to protect this town. When we went to their camp to demand the others give up the criminals who committed that atrocity they fired on us. Fired on me, hitting me in the chest.” He pointed to the exact spot where the vest material had punctured his skin, although of course it couldn’t be seen.
“I’m sorry to hear that. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re not qualified to handle this situation.”