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  “We need to make preparations, quickly,” Megan said to Derick. “He’s right. We can’t take him to Ethan’s place.”

  “Where will you take him?” Derick asked.

  “To Harmony,” she said.

  “Why Harmony?”

  “That’s where he left the Griffin,” she said. “If we need to get away quickly, that’s our best hope.”

  “But how will you get him there?” Derick asked.

  “Let’s go,” Megan said. “I have some calls to make, and then I’ll explain my plan to you on the way to Nolan’s apartment.”

  Chapter 15

  Georgia Bennett glared at her comm unit when the chime rang, the display indicating a direct connection from Senator Kase. She pressed a button, transferring the senator to her secretary, and went back to reading the latest disappointing updates from Jiorgenson’s team. As she read, she wondered if she might have to relieve the captain and put Lieutenant Zorbas in his place. Perhaps the right motivation would produce results.

  “I’m sorry, Senator. The first admiral is unavailable at the moment. Can I take a message?” asked the first admiral’s secretary.

  “No, I wouldn’t want to waste any of the first admiral’s precious time,” the senator said and abruptly closed the link.

  “That’s the third time she’s refused to take my call,” Senator Kase said to Tom Easton, his personal aide. “General Nelson tells me she’s taken over the entire civilian satellite network around Caldon and seized the data center. Her goons even roughed up civilian employees there.”

  “She’s getting bolder,” Tom said.

  “She’s out of control is what she is,” the senator said.

  “It was a mistake to give her the security forces.”

  “Hindsight, Tom. Now, would you excuse me? I need to make a private call,” the senator said.

  “Certainly,” Tom said as he stood and left the room. When the door was shut, Senator Kase opened a comm link.

  Lance Nelson pulled his data unit from his pocket and opened the incoming link. “Hello, Senator. What can I do for you?”

  “Can we talk, General?” the senator asked.

  “I’m alone on my end, sir.”

  “Lance, we have a big problem. You know that situation we were discussing earlier? We need to act.”

  “I agree. Things are getting out of control here. She has usurped an entire squad of my forces and has them answering directly to her, bypassing me completely. She’s also brought in a sadistic bastard whose only job is to torture people for information.”

  There was a long moment of silence before the senator finally spoke. “She needs to be stopped. Can you do it with some of your forces on her side?”

  “Absolutely, Senator. I can handle her goons. I trained them. I know their strengths and weaknesses.”

  “Her goons are one thing, but don’t underestimate Georgia Bennett, General.”

  “I won’t, Senator.”

  “Put together a plan and let me know when you’re ready,” the senator said.

  “Yes, sir,” Nelson said.

  “General, when this is over, your team will be an independent branch again, answering directly to the senate, like it used to be.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Nelson said. He waited for the senator to close the comm link, and then opened a link to his senior commander, Major Eric Anderson.

  “Hello, General,” the major said when he opened the link.

  “Eric, I just spoke with Kase regarding that little problem we were discussing. It’s time to take action. I want you to begin putting together our teams. I’m taking care of moving Peters. As soon as I get back, I’ll join you and we can finalize the details.”

  “Yes, sir,” Anderson replied.

  * * * *

  Niles Jiorgenson stopped short when he reached the infirmary and found two armed guards standing in front of the door. One of the men gestured for him to approach. “The general is expecting you, Captain Jiorgenson,” he said.

  Relieved, Niles walked to the door and entered. Finding the waiting room empty, he continued through the doors into the clinical section. Walking along the stark white corridor, he looked into open doorways, listening for voices. The corridor ended at the middle of another. To the right were the operating rooms and to the left, the recovery rooms. Hoping Peter’s hadn’t required surgery, he turned left. The third door on the right opened, and an orderly stepped out carrying a clipboard. He stopped and looked Niles up and down. “Captain’s eagles on a janitor’s jumpsuit. Are you Captain Jiorgenson?” the man asked.

  Niles nodded.

  “They’re in here,” he said as he stepped back to the door and held it open.

  General Nelson’s voice carried through the open door. “I understand your concerns, Doctor, but he isn’t safe here. He’ll be well cared for, I assure you.”

  “General, this man is in serious condition and shouldn’t be moved for several days,” said someone else.

  He stepped into the room. “Nolan Peters can’t stay here,” Niles said. “I’ve made arrangements for his care, Doctor. Please prepare a document detailing his injuries, treatments, and needed medications. Then put together a bag with whatever drugs and supplies he’ll need to recuperate, including copies of any scans you performed. The general and I will be taking him to another facility as soon as you have packed his supplies.”

  “This is against my medical judgment,” the doctor insisted.

  “You can include that in your document,” Jiorgenson said. “Now, if you will quickly prepare what we need, we’ll arrange transportation.”

  “I have an ambulance waiting at the back door. You can ride with Peters. Two of my people will ride with you. I’ll be up front with the driver,” the general said.

  “Will we have any trouble getting him off the base?” Niles asked.

  The general shook his head. “It’s my people on the gates, Captain. That’s why I’m going with you. Even if First Admiral Bennett herself ordered them to stop us, they wouldn’t,” Nelson replied.

  Jiorgenson’s data unit chimed. Pulling it out, he opened a message and read it. “This can’t be right.”

  “What’s wrong?” Nelson asked.

  “She wants us to bring Peters to the starliner maintenance facility at Dawson spaceport. That makes no sense.”

  “Delegation of authority, Captain. You told her what her mission was. Leave the details to her. Our job is to deliver Peters,” the general said before he stepped out into the corridor. “Doc! We need to get moving. Is everything ready?”

  “Almost!” came a shout from another room. “Just a few more minutes. I’m packing up the supplies.”

  Two EMTs from the ambulance approached, one pushing a gurney, the other carrying a large medical kit. They were followed by two armed security team members.

  “Doc!” Nelson shouted, “We’re taking Peters to the ambulance. Bring everything to us as soon as it’s ready!” He pointed to a doorway, and the EMTs and their escorts continued into the room followed closely by the general. Jiorgenson took a deep breath and readied himself to see Peters again. He had been keeping his distance from the bed, but now the moment could not be put off any longer. Hopefully, knowing what to expect, it wouldn’t be as difficult to see Zorbas’ handiwork this time. After another deep breath, he continued across the room to where the general stood a few feet from the bed. Nolan Peters’ face was more discolored, this morning’s red now edging toward green and black. The gurney was positioned at the foot of the bed.

  “We need some help, here,” said one of the EMTs. Nelson took Jiorgenson by the arm and led him toward the bed. “Grab the sheet. We’re going to lift him with it, and then we’ll side step until he’s over the gurney. Be as gentle as possible. We’ll lift on three. One… two… three.”

  Nolan groaned in distress. Jiorgenson couldn’t imagine the pain the man must be in, undoubtedly made worse by every movement. Careful as they were, Nolan continued to groan with each st
ep they took. When he was over the gurney, they slowly lowered him. The sound he made when they rested him on the gurney made Jiorgenson weak in the knees. He turned to the general and said, “Whatever you plan to do to Zorbas, I want to be there.”

  The general looked at him for a moment, and then looked down at his trembling legs. “No, you don’t, Captain. Anyway, I’m not a barbarian, not like Zorbas. Nothing like this is going to happen to him.”

  “Well… it should,” Niles protested.

  “That’s one variety of justice—the kind that people like Zorbas dole out. If that’s what you want, I’ll let you come down to his cell and you can give him the beating you think he deserves.”

  Niles stared into the general’s eyes for a moment before shaking his head and turning to watch the EMTs as they worked to make Peters comfortable for the trip. “I couldn’t do that, but someone should.”

  Nelson put a hand on Niles’ shoulder. “That’s the thing about that variety of justice, son. There are people who are too willing for that sort of thing to happen, as long as someone else will do it. If you have to have heartless bastards dish out your justice, it’s not justice, it’s barbarism. Do you know how I made it to the rank of general and why my people are so loyal to me? I never gave a command I wasn’t willing to personally carry out myself. It’s a rule that will serve you well in your career.”

  “We’re ready,” said an EMT.

  “Let’s go, then,” Nelson said. Turning to the guards, he said, “Allison, you lead. Jacob, you bring up the rear.”

  The group hurried along the corridor and soon arrived at the emergency entrance of the medical wing. The rear doors of the ambulance were open, and the EMTs carefully loaded the gurney and locked it into position. Jiorgenson climbed in and sat next to one of the EMTs, while Allison and Jacob sat next to the other EMT on the opposite side.

  The doctor ran out and handed General Nelson a bag. “Everything is here. Take good care of him.”

  Nelson took the bag, slid it into the ambulance, and then closed the rear doors and secured them. “Thanks, Doc,” he said before he went to the passenger’s door and got in. The driver activated the retrograv, and the ambulance lifted. Jiorgenson was relieved that Peters would be spared the jolts and bumps of Dawson’s pothole-riddled streets.

  The ambulance moved through the base until it reached the gate onto Water Street. It quickly opened, and the ambulance accelerated. The general was definitely connected to his people, Jiorgenson realized. They knew exactly what to do, and Peters was now safely out of SACOM Central Command.

  * * * *

  When the ambulance arrived at the entrance for the starliner maintenance facility, the gate rolled back and two men waved the vehicle through.

  “Is that Carson?” the general asked.

  Jiorgenson moved to the walkway leading to the front section and looked through the window. “Yes, that’s her.”

  “Turn around and back up to that hangar door, Corporal,” Nelson said to the driver.

  When the back doors of the ambulance opened, Allison and Jacob jumped down and took up positions on either side of the doors. Jiorgenson climbed down to greet Megan, but she stepped around him and climbed into the ambulance. He heard her sudden intake of breath as she saw Nolan. In an instant, her expression changed from one of shock to one of steel determination. The EMTs unlocked the gurney and carefully moved it out until the wheels dropped and locked into position.

  Megan stepped down to the pavement and said, “Follow me,” as she led the way across the maintenance hangar to a cargo shuttle. The rear ramp was down, and its interior lights were glowing. Leading the way up the ramp, she pointed to a bed and said, “Put him there.”

  Standing alone in the center of the cargo bay was a bed, about waist high, with folding bed rails all around. Lights were mounted in the ceiling directly above. Clearly, this shuttle doubled as a medical transport when needed. The group transferred Nolan to the bed as gently as possible. The SACOM people moved away, and the ambulance driver set the bag prepared by the doctor on the floor at the foot of the bed.

  “He’s in your care, now. Good luck,” the general said.

  “The surgeon prepared written instructions for his care and packed supplies in that bag,” Jiorgenson said.

  Megan approached him and said, “Thank you. I don’t know why you did this, but thank you.” Then, to his surprise, she hugged him.

  “Where are you taking him?” he asked.

  General Nelson put an arm around his shoulder and quickly pulled him toward the ramp. “We do not want to know anything, ma’am. Good luck.”

  * * * *

  Strapped into a jump seat, Megan read the report from the SACOM surgeon as the shuttle rolled out of the hangar and taxied to a lift-off pad. With his injuries, his recovery would take several weeks. She reviewed the instruction for his care, quickly glancing at some of the supplies in the bag. The ship rose gently on its retrograv drive. Following Megan’s instructions, the pilot kept acceleration to a gentle level. The ride was smooth enough that she unbuckled and went to work. She slipped a pulse oximeter onto Nolan’s finger. His arms were badly bruised, so she attached a blood pressure cuff around his calf. Taking out her data unit, she recorded his vital signs.

  Moving to the head of the bed, she bent down and said softly, “Nolan, can you hear me?” He gave no response. “Nolan, it’s Megan. Can you hear me? Give me a sign.”

  Nolan opened his mouth, but no sound came. With obvious difficulty, he slid a hand to hers and stroked her hand with one finger.

  “You’re going to be okay, Nolan. I’m taking you away from Caldon. I’m going to take care of you. I won’t leave you,” she said.

  Nolan rubbed her hand again briefly. He opened his mouth. After a few tries, he managed to say, “Thirsty.”

  “I’ll start an IV. The doctor said you can’t have anything to drink until this evening,” she said. Taking an IV bag from the supplies, she hung it on a hook above the bed, bled the air from the line, and connected it to an access port on his IV catheter. She adjusted the drip rate and made another notation in the log on her data unit. “That will help,” she told him softly.

  The shuttle docked to a large airlock that led directly to the starliner’s medical facility. Two technicians rushed onto the shuttle pushing a wheeled frame. Nolan’s bed was unlocked from its base and slid onto it. Megan grabbed the supply bag and her suitcase, following as they wheeled Nolan into the ship. Within minutes, they had him transferred to a bed in a private room where passengers coming in for medical treatment wouldn’t see him. After checking his IV, blood oxygen saturation, and blood pressure, Megan went to the ship’s chief medical officer, Dr. Sofia Harper, and gave her the documents from the SACOM surgeon. While she read the report, Megan transferred her log to the ship’s medical documentation system.

  “It amazes me, the heartless things people will do to one another,” the doctor said. “He’s in pretty bad shape, but he should make a full recovery in time. I’d like to examine him for myself, and then I’ll have the necessary supplies stocked in his room.”

  “The surgeon sent some supplies,” Megan said.

  “We’ll take inventory, and if there is anything else I think you’ll need, I’ll have it brought in.”

  “Thank you, Sofia, for everything.”

  The doctor patted Megan’s arm and said, “I’m glad to help an old friend. Let’s go see him.”

  Nolan was awake when Megan and Dr. Harper entered his room. One of the technicians was hooking up sensors and monitors to him. The doctor waited as the last connections were made and the data began to be displayed on the monitor above his bed.

  Megan could see one of his eyes was open just a bit. Something like a smile tried to take shape, but was cut short with a groan of pain. “I’m here, Nolan. You just relax and rest. I’m going to take care of you,” she said.

  Nolan’s hand rose slowly until it found the top of the bed rail, and then slid along until it
touched Megan’s hand. She gently ran her fingers over the back of his hand, and as she did, she noticed the bruises around his wrists where they must have been tied tightly during his torture. She wanted to cry, but now was not the time or place.

  Sofia, satisfied with the data from his medical monitors, pulled down the sheet and examined his ribs. She pulled the sheet up and took a small light from her jacket pocket. Gently, she tried to open Nolan’s right eye a bit, but she stopped when he groaned. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I want to check your pupils, but I suppose that can wait.”

  Returning the light to her pocket, she picked up the bag and arranged its contents neatly on a counter. Looking over the items, she said, “I’ll have a few things brought in.”

  “Can we bring a cot in here for me?” she asked.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a regular cabin?” Sofia asked. “We have technicians on duty around the clock. He’ll never be alone.”

  “I want to be here with him all the time,” she said.

  Sofia nodded. “I’ll have a bed brought in.”

  Chapter 16

  General Nelson walked into SACOM Security and went straight into Major Anderson’s office. “Are things still quiet here?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir. Nobody has missed Zorbas or Peters yet.”

  “That’s not surprising. Bennett left Peters to Zorbas’ personal care. As for Zorbas, I can’t imagine anyone missing him, no matter how long he was gone.”

  “She’ll miss him, sooner or later,” Eric replied.

  “Then we need to move before she starts asking about him.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ve put together a list of the people I trust most for this operation,” Eric said. “I’ve also checked the inventory report from the arsenal. So far, the goon squad hasn’t checked out anything extra. They have standard issue neurodart pistols and tranquilizer darts,” Eric said.