At exactly ten o’clock Glen came to stand in the open doorway on the threshold of the Sovereign’s office and waited for an invitation to enter.
Rev looked up and motioned him in. “Sir Catch?”
“Good morning, Sovereign,” Catch said with a grin as he stepped into Rev’s new office.
“I would return your greeting in kind, but can’t because I can see into the future.”
Glen looked intrigued. “You’re clairvoyant, sir?”
“Not at all, but I can still predict that you won’t be looking quite so cheerful fifteen minutes from now.”
“Uh oh. First day on the job and you’re already busting as…, um, enforcing the discipline that’s been lacking since the former Sovereign passed away.”
Rev gave him the toothy grin his shit-eating comment deserved. “Sit. We put out the smokes last night.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I see that one of Z Team retired.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And that you’re throwing in with them?”
“That’s right.”
Rev nodded and looked decidedly unhappy about that. “I see. Well, let me say this then. I haven’t known you long and I don’t know you well, but you seem like a nice sort. A nice sort with an outstanding and impeccable record. You would have to be remarkable to keep this place running. So I’m compelled to ask.
“Are. You. Sure?”
Glen smiled. “I see their reputation has made it south of the Equator.”
“Oh, yes. They’re infamous enough. I doubt there’s anyone connected with Black Swan in any capacity who hasn’t heard some Z story at some time or other.”
Glen laughed. “Yes. And maybe some of it is even true!” Rev’s scowl brought Glen’s levity to a full stop. “I appreciate your concern, sir, but I expect I’ll be able to…”
When Rev’s mind unexpectedly flashed on a memory of an encounter with Z Team, he gasped from the assault of bright, vivid images and feelings of both excitement and anxiety. The memory came through crystal clear, complete with sounds, voices, and music. That would have been fine if he had always been Rev Farthing, but the memory he was witnessing – in his own head – was a recreation of somebody else’s experience.
After a couple of seconds he realized that it was probably an episode of the memory cross-over phenomenon that Kellareal had warned him about.
Glen had come around the desk and was standing over him looking concerned. “What’s wrong? You need medical?”
Rev swallowed and pushed the visions aside. “No. Of course not. An old injury. I just turned the wrong way and pinched a nerve. First time that’s happened in years.”
“You sure?”
Rev pointed to the chair. “Sit down over there and let’s finish this talk.” Glen hesitated, but did as he was told. “So you have the crazy idea that you’re going to rehabilitate that gang of miscreants?”
Glen smirked. “Why don’t you just tell me how you really feel about them?”
“Just did.”
“Maybe I’ll learn something from them. Maybe they’ll learn something from me. Maybe everybody benefits, The Order most of all. At least that’s the plan.”
“Well said, Sir Catch. You’re a big boy, but you’re a green knight. Being able to count on your team in the field is everything. Do you think these men are worthy of that trust?”
Glen had learned a lot about maturity while playing the role of Sovereign. Not wanting to rush into an answer without giving it due consideration, he took a moment and mulled the prospect over in his mind. “I appreciate your concern, Sovereign. I really do. As to the issue of trust, I honestly don’t know, but if that’s truly at question, they should be relieved of hunter duties.”
Rev sighed and reached for his coffee cup. The kid was right. Their antics always seemed to stop just short of the discharge line.
“Next order of business. The vampire virus has mutated. Not only is it no longer affected by the vaccine, but evidence points to the new strain being stronger and more aggressive. At least the conversion process has accelerated. Vamps can be made in minutes.”
Glen paled visibly and almost whispered, “Minutes.”
Rev continued as if he’d just delivered the stock market report. “I need a report on housing for knights immediately, as in two weeks ago. We’re recalling some of the retired to active duty and some of the trainees will be processed early.
“Including, Z Team, who will be staying here.” He looked at Glen pointedly when he said it. “And the married couples… We now have eight in residence. We’ll need housing for twenty more.”
“Twenty?” Glen’s eyes bugged out. “There hadn’t been twenty-eight hunters in residence even in the days before the vaccine.”
Rev nodded. “Your point?”
Glen moved his head back and forth in an odd motion that indicated discombobulated disbelief. “We don’t have the staff to support that.”
“That’s right. But we will. They’re on the way.” He glanced at the calendar. “Should be starting to arrive in three days.”
“Three days?” Glen repeated like he didn’t believe it.
“You and your co-temporary-administrator were not made aware of the crisis or told to prepare for these changes in status, which was an oversight.”
“Uh, no. We weren’t. How is it that you know so much about it when you just got here?”
“That is no longer your concern, Sir Catch. You weren’t told. It’s not your fault, but it is a problem that’s going to require diligent management and long hours.”
“Yes, sir. Sorry for overstepping.”
“In addition to the report on housing, I also need to see your recommendations on which three of the trainees could be made ready for field work right away.”
“We don’t have any trainees ready to go now, sir.”
“Hard times, Sir Knight.” Glen perceived from Rev’s piercing look that he wasn’t happy about the request, but it was what it was. “Every training unit has been tasked with repurposing. We have to come up with three to hit the numbers. You’re in the best position to judge which three are most ready.”
Glen looked as if he’d aged years within the last few minutes. ‘Most ready’ is not the same thing as ready. Nobody in his right mind wanted to pit kids against vampire. And, if it had to be done, nobody – least of all he, wanted the job of choosing which kids it would be.
Rev turned to his computer screen in dismissal. “Seems we’ve got a lot to do and not much time in which to do it.”
“Yes. That is how it would seem,” Glen replied.
Rev tried to look around Glen. “Who’s on duty right now?”
“Bo Barrock.”
“Please tell him to call Operations and ask Ms. Farnsworth to come for a briefing as soon as possible.”
“I will. Is there anything else, sir?”
Rev looked at his watch. “Could you request the presence of Sir Hawking and the Lady Laiken in my office at 3:00?” Glen seemed to hesitate. “Is there a problem?”
“Um, well, sir, the problem is that I don’t yet know you well enough to know if that’s a true request or an order.” In response to that, Glen received a stare so piercing that a lesser man would have squirmed. “Let’s say that it’s a request unless declined. Then it’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.” Glen turned to leave. “Don’t forget to tell Mr. Barrock to get Farnsworth in here. If we’re going to pull this off, it will only be because she has miracle-worker in her skill set.”
Glen looked curious. “You know her, sir?”
Rev glanced up from the computer screen. “Only by reputation and a brief introduction yesterday.”
“Farnsworth has a reputation,” he repeated. “Huh.” Glen was clearly bemused about the idea.
“That’s all.”
At 11:00 Farnsworth knocked on the door.
Rev had been just about ready to grab his ears and scream, but when he looked up and saw her, a calmness descended and h
e was sure no task was impossible.
“Come in,” he said softly.
“Sovereign.” Her tone was crisp. She had her beautiful hair pulled back into a bun at her nape and held with crocheted netting. She wore tailored black pants, black heels and a sleeveless green silk blouse that fell to her hip line. It fit close enough to reveal the lines of her body without being overtly clingy. Elegant. Professional.
She sat in front of his desk and opened her portaputer with efficiency, apparently readying to take notes.
Rev stared openly for a couple of seconds, then rose, walked around the desk, closed the door which she’d left standing open, and returned to his chair.
“How are you?”
Farnsworth looked confused. “How am I?”
“Was that too intimate a question?”
Her face flushed instantly. “Intimate?”
“I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, especially in light of the fact that I have bad news.”
He spent the next few minutes explaining the crisis and the fact that they were weeks behind. She was cool, calm and collected through receipt of the news and all the implications for her and her department. It was also noteworthy that the only thing that got a reaction from her was his use of the word ‘intimate’.
“So. Now that I’ve lowered the boom, as they say, I’m eager to hear your reaction.”
“My reaction? That’s why they pay me the big bucks?”
He tilted his head. “I know how much you make. It’s not big bucks.”
She smiled. “It was a joke.”
“Of course, the big bucks.” He returned her smile and held her gaze for a second. “What do you need from the rest of us to make this happen?”
“I need to see the report. Who? When? What do they do for The Order? We can hand off requisitioning medical supplies to medical, food to Crisp, and make housekeeping responsible for readying the apartments and dorm rooms that have been closed. I’ve got to have a total count on beds really soon though.
“Oh, I’ll also need the flight schedules. My trainee assistants can coordinate pickups at the hangar. So long as someone else has made sure that there is enough support staff, we’ll be okay.”
She stared for a moment as if she was expecting Rev to say something.
“Yes?”
“Would you like me to double check the duty apportionment data to make sure we have the right ratio of support staff to knights and trainees?”
“That would be very much appreciated. I don’t like unpleasant surprises.” She laughed out loud. “What?”
“Well, who does? By the way, I’m not getting involved with anything to do with the armory.”
Rev nodded. “Do you think you’ll have an idea on where we are by tonight?”
She pursed her lips. “We better. They’re coming ready or not. Right?”
“Right. So, in that case, would you like to have dinner with me and go over your thoughts, insights, discoveries…?”
She blinked several times. “I can make a report to you here.” She looked around his office like it was safe.
“Yes, but you have to eat. I have to eat. Think of it as multitasking.”
“Business dinner.”
“Strictly business.”
“All right then.”
“I’ll come by the office at eight. That is, if you think you’ll be working late.”
She snorted and immediately regretted the sound she’d made, even though she told herself that she didn’t care what the new Sovereign thought of her. At all.
“Yes. I will be working late. I’ll stop for dinner and then get back to it.”
Rev’s eyes roamed over her appreciatively. “I wish I could tell you that wouldn’t be necessary. But the fact is that this entire convergence depends on you.”
She met his gaze and saw that he was being sincere and not just polite. “Thank you for noticing. I’ll do my part.”
She caught the twinkle of amusement in his eyes when he smiled. “I know you will. Eight o’clock.”
At three o’clock Storm, Ram, and Elora were waiting in the hall outside the new Sovereign’s office wondering what in the world he might want with them. There was no one in the outer office because there was a shift of trainee duty at that time of day.
Storm was in midsentence telling the other two what he knew about the new guy, when the inner office door swung open.
Rev motioned to them. “Come in.” Short. Terse. Authoritative. He acted like a man who’d been running that office forever, not like someone who’d just arrived and was feeling his way around. “Come on in and take a seat.”
Storm took his customary place leaning against the back wall. Ram took his customary place at the end of the sofa closest to the Sovereign’s chair and next to the Courtpark window. Elora sat in a leather chair facing the desk and was thinking that she’d been in that office countless times and had never sat anywhere else.
“I recognize you from your files, of course. My name is Rev Farthing, but you’ve…” He motioned at Ram and Elora. “…probably heard that already.
“I wish I had better news.”
Rev spent a few minutes catching them up on the crisis. Of the three, the only one who had anything to say was Ram. He scrubbed a hand down the front of his face and punctuated the gesture with, “Great Paddy.”
“Yes. Well, insofar as this predicament affects the three of you, and this does come from on high, every able bodied knight under the age of thirty-five is being recalled to active duty.”
Ram jumped to his feet. “Active duty! For Paddy’s sake, man! We have an apartment full of boxes packed for movin’. Look at my mate. You see that fuckin’ nice bloom on her cheeks? ‘Tis ‘cause she’s daydreamin’ about a stack of an old house in Ireland, raisin’ elflin’s and black and silver pups!”
Elora had remained seated. “We have a baby, Sovereign.”
The softening of Rev’s face was barely noticeable. He’d been playing hard ass for a very long time. “Many of the retired knights have children, Lady Laiken. Perhaps even most.” He glanced at Storm. “Sir Caelian is being recalled as well.
“You have seven days before B Team rotation begins. Six hour shifts every other day.” He turned to Elora. “Sir Catch is preparing a report on which three of the trainees he thinks are most ready to go early. As martial instructor, I’d like to have your input on that as well.”
At that, Elora jumped to her feet. She was incensed. “Stop right there! Putting seasoned knights back on the street is one thing, but you’re not getting my boys before they’re good and ready to go.”
“It’s not up to me.”
“Of course it is. You’re not getting them. And as far as B Team goes, two of us have a child together. Do you understand that that’s a special circumstance?”
Rev seemed to be considering that. “You’re right. You can’t both be out on the same patrol. Take turns and I’ll be B Team’s fourth.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Storm spoke up for the first time. “You can’t handle the duties of Sovereign and be on rotation.”
“I absolutely can. And I will.” Storm opened his mouth to speak, but Rev cut him off. “So long as I’m in charge here, it’s not up to you.”
To Storm, he said, “Go spend time with your wife and report in seven days.”
To Ram and Elora, he said, “Go unpack. You’re not going anywhere until we can replace you.”
Watching as Ram and Elora looked to each other, an onlooker would have sworn an entire silent conversation took place through the connection they made with their eyes.
Ram turned back to Rev. “If our boy is going to be in danger…”
Rev interrupted. “If we’re talking about vampire, this facility, which will soon house twenty-eight active duty knights and twenty trainees, is the safest place the child could be.”
“Aye.” Ram looked dubious. “I once thought the same.”
The
three members of B Team filed out into the hall, but didn’t speak until they got into the elevator. Storm punched Hub level and turned to Ram. “How about a drink?”
“You read my mind, brother.”
After they had settled into a booth near the bar Storm sat back and shook his head. “I’d rather take a horse-whipping than deliver the damn edict to Litha.”
“’Tis no’ your doin’. You’re the victim here, the victim of vampire virus once removed. If anythin’ she should be coverin’ you with sympathetic kisses and cooin’ about how The Order is king of mean.”
Storm smirked at Ram. “Once removed? You have always had the oddest way of looking at things.”
“Just another reason why you’re incomparably fond of me. Wonder what Kay’s goin’ to say about this unwelcome development.”
“Wonder what Katrina is going to say.”
Storm looked at Elora across the booth table between them. “You’re being uncharacteristically quiet.”
Realizing that was true, Ram turned his head to watch her reaction. When she didn’t speak right away, he put his arm around her shoulder. “What’s goin’ ‘round in that beautiful noggin, my girl?”
Elora raised her gaze to meet Ram’s, looked across at Storm, and then lowered her eyes to the table. “You heard him,” she said quietly. “The vaccine, which came from my blood, has compounded the problem so that it’s worse than it was before.”
The two men knew her well enough to extrapolate her reasoning at the same time. Guilt.
“Elora,” Storm began, “you can’t possibly be thinking of taking on responsibility for this. For gods’ sake, woman, you’re just a plaything of the Fates. Like the rest of us.“
“Stormy’s right, love. You thinkin’ ‘tis you… well ‘tis daft and there’s nothin’ for it.”
Storm rolled his eyes at Ram’s lack of delicacy. “What Rammel means to say is that, if we were going to place blame, which we’re not, but if we were, it would be on Monq. Not you.”
“AYE! ‘TWAS MONQ!” Noticing that his outburst had drawn the attention of the few other people in the bar, Ram self-moderated his behavior, a rarity to be certain, and lowered his voice. “The whole thin’ is a result of the quack’s experiment and lays no’ at your feet.”
Knights of Black Swan, Books 7-9 (Knights of Black Swan Box Set Book 3) Page 10
