by Jim Proctor
“We’ll turn him over to the Dawson PD. They have several outstanding warrants for him. They’ll also check with the authorities around Zebulon to see if he’s wanted on any charges there,” Nelson said.
“Thank you, General,” he said, pressing the button to end the link. Could this day get any worse? He quickly removed his clothes and tossed them into a bag. After unzipping the garment bag he’d taken from his locker, he pulled out the dress white trousers and slipped one leg into them. “Damn it!” he screamed. The crotch of his dress uniform pants had been cut out, leaving a gaping hole. It was a standard SACOM prank, but it had been more than a year since anyone had done it. As he thought about it, he recalled that he was the last person to pull this stunt. And then he recalled that this uniform had been in his locker for nearly a year. Standing there in his underwear, he tried to recall who he had done this to, certain they had retaliated, when his door opened and Lieutenant Linda Groves entered.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I wasn’t expecting you to be in this early,” she said. She looked him up and down, trying not to laugh.
“I came in early to interrogate a prisoner,” he said.
“And he stole your clothes,” she said.
He looked down, and then looked at the lieutenant. “Would you go down to the PX and get me a uniform, or anything I can wear?”
“Yes, sir. What size?” she asked.
He tossed her the dress white pants. Pulling the matching shirt from the bag, he threw it to her as well.
“I’ll see what I can find,” she said as she stepped out and closed the door. He could hear her laughing as she walked away.
His comm unit chimed. He dropped into his chair and answered the call. “Jiorgenson.”
“This is Lieutenant Zorbas.”
Jiorgenson froze. This was the man responsible for questioning Nolan Peters. He’d never realized what a vile, inhuman beast the man was. “I suppose you have news for me,” he said. Any enthusiasm he might have had prior to this morning was gone, driven away by the realization of the human cost.
“Not really. I didn’t learn anything new from Peters last night. However, I think he is breaking down. I should have something for you tomorrow.”
“Release him,” Jiorgenson said.
“What? Give me a few more days. I know I can break him,” Zorbas said.
“You’ve done enough breaking already. Have him taken to the infirmary. Once they’ve checked him over, release him. Have someone take him home,” he said.
“Ah, I understand. Time to do away with this little problem,” Zorbas said.
“What? No! Never mind. I’ll take care of it myself. You just stay the hell away from him, and that’s an order!” Jiorgenson said before ending the call. He quickly opened a link to General Nelson.
“Nelson here.”
“General, I need another favor. Nolan Peters is in cell twenty-three. Please send someone down there right away to stand guard. I don’t want Zorbas going into that cell for any reason,” the captain said.
“Easy enough. I’ll send two of my people immediately. What are you going to do with him?” the general asked.
“I’ll be down as soon as I get some clothes. Don’t ask. I’ll bring a few of my people, and we’ll take Peters to the infirmary. Then we’ll take him home.”
“This is your investigation, son. You’re calling the shots,” the general said.
“Regarding Zorbas… you know what he is, don’t you?” the captain asked.
“I can make a pretty good guess,” Nelson said.
“Have you seen Peters? This morning, I mean,” Jiorgenson asked.
“No, I haven’t seen him since they brought him in.”
“Maybe you should go down there and see Zorbas’ handiwork.”
After a brief pause, the general said, “I’ll go down there and see for myself. I’ll personally stand guard on his cell. If Zorbas shows up, he’ll have to go through me.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jiorgenson said. The general terminated the link.
There was a knock at his door. “It’s me, sir. Groves, Sir. I have clothes for you.”
“Come in,” he said. He could tell the lieutenant was holding back laughter. She held out a clear plastic bag with something blue inside. She tossed it to him, and he examined it. “A janitor’s jumpsuit! That’s what you got for me?”
“I’m sorry, sir. Many of the survivors from the First Fleet lost most of their gear. They cleaned out the PX when they returned, and they haven't restocked yet. They didn’t have anything else in your size,” she said.
“I don’t have time to wait for anything else,” he said as he tore open the bag and began slipping into the jumpsuit. After zipping it up, he dug through the bag with his vomit-covered clothes and removed his captain’s insignias from the shirt collar. He stepped in front of the lieutenant and held out the silver eagles. “I don’t have a mirror. Please pin these on my collar.”
* * * *
Jiorgenson arrived at cell twenty-three, followed by Lieutenant Groves and Lieutenant Baker. One of General Nelson’s security team, Corporal Shaw according to his name tag, was standing by the open door.
“Captain Jiorgenson, General Nelson asked me to wait here and give you a message. The general has taken Mr. Peters to the infirmary. He suggests you meet him there as soon as possible,” Shaw said.
Without a word, Jiorgenson turned and ran up the corridor.
“Thank you,” Groves said, and then she and Baker ran after the captain.
The three were out of breath when they reached the infirmary. Jiorgenson had spoken to the general numerous times via comm link over the years, but he had never met the man in person. The familiar face and powerful voice reassured Jiorgenson that he had indeed found Nelson. Medium in height, Nelson was barrel-chested and had arm muscles to match. His gently rounded facial features did little to take away from his intimidating appearance. His deep ebony skin glistened with small beads of perspiration atop his shaved head. Dark, wraparound sunglasses concealed the man’s eyes. He stood in the corner of the waiting room talking on his data unit.
“Thank you, Senator,” the general said, slipping his data unit into his pocket. He walked toward the captain and said, “I expected Peters to be in bad shape after our talk. When I got there, it was a lot worse than I had imagined. He was coughing up blood and struggling to breathe. I brought him here immediately. The doctor said he has two broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a concussion. They’re working on him.”
“Zorbas did this,” Jiorgenson said, no longer trying to conceal his disgust.
“I know. I’ll deal with him soon,” the general said.
“What can you do? He answers directly to First Admiral Bennett.”
“Leave that to me. I’ll take care of it,” the general said.
“But Zorbas will find out that Peters is missing. He’ll go straight to Bennett,” Jiorgenson said.
The general turned to the lieutenants and said, “I think it would be a good idea for you two to return to your work. You won’t be needed here.”
Baker and Groves looked at each other, their doubt evident. They turned to Jiorgenson, unsure if they dared to ask if they should obey the general. Before either could say anything, the captain held out a hand to Baker and said, “Give me Peters’ data unit, and then you can both return to your stations.”
Baker passed the unit to Jiorgenson. Turning, he walked to the door with Groves following close behind.
The general said, “Just a moment.” Crossing the room, he said softly, “A storm is coming. I suggest you keep this incident to yourselves for now. There will come a time for disclosure, but this is not that time.”
The pair nodded and left.
Nelson sat in one of the well-padded chairs and leaned back, resting his head against the wall. Jiorgenson sat next to him and waited for the man to speak. The general was silent for some time. Finally, he said, “Things are happening, Captain. The less you know, the better
, but someone needs to take care of Nolan Peters. Does he have family?”
“He has a girlfriend here in Dawson and an uncle in Zebulon,” Jiorgenson said.
Nelson considered this for a moment. “That’s all? What do you know about them?”
“His uncle is a farmer or rancher, I don’t really know. His girlfriend is an emergency medical technician.”
The general nodded. “She’s the one then. She’ll be able to take care of him while he recovers. As soon as he can be moved, we need to get him out of here and into her care. They should go away somewhere.”
“You want him to go into hiding?” asked the captain.
The general shrugged. “Call it that, if you want. I just think he should get away from Dawson for a while.”
“But what about Zorbas?” Jiorgenson asked.
“Captain, since you refuse to leave the subject alone, I’ll tell you that I have Zorbas in a cell. He isn’t going to cause any trouble for a while,” the general said.
“He’ll be missed,” Jiorgenson hissed.
“I doubt that, but even so, he won’t be found, not where I have him. Don’t worry about Zorbas. You need to concentrate on getting Peters out of here. Why don’t you go and contact the girlfriend—let her know what’s happened. I’ll inform the doctor that Peters will be leaving as soon as possible. I’ll have him pack whatever supplies and medications he’ll need,” the general said.
Jiorgenson was still worried about Zorbas, but the general seemed pretty confident that he had the situation under control. He looked at the general for a moment, and then nodded. “I’ll contact her.”
“I recommend going to see her in person. This isn’t the sort of news you give someone via comm.”
Jiorgenson nodded. “Okay. I’ll take care of it. I’ll come and see you when I get back.”
“I’ll be right here,” Nelson said.
“I’ll find you.”
“No,” Nelson said. “I mean I’ll be right here, in the infirmary. I am personally guarding Peters until he is safely away from here.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Jiorgenson said.
* * * *
Jiorgenson exited the base and walked along the sidewalk toward the park. He needed the kind of privacy a public place full of people gave you. The day was bright and warm, perfect for buying lunch from a food truck around the park’s perimeter. He crossed the street and continued up the sidewalk leading into the park. At the top of the hill, he paused and surveyed the trucks. It had been years since he had left the base for lunch. None of the trucks looked familiar, but one had a much longer queue than the others. That was usually a good sign.
After waiting in line for nearly twenty minutes, he took his food to a nearby bench and sat. Taking out his data unit, he looked up the comm code for Megan Joy Carson. He debated what to say while he ate. This had to be handled delicately.
When he had finished eating, he threw his food wrappers into the recycle bin and opened a comm link as he walked toward a cluster of trees.
“Hello,” came a woman’s voice over the link.
“Hello. Is this Megan Carson?” he asked.
“Who’s asking?”
“My name is…” he almost said captain, “Niles Jiorgenson. I need to speak with Megan Carson. It’s regarding Nolan Peters.”
“I’m listening,” the voice said.
“I think it would be better if we had this discussion in person,” he said. “It’s a bit delicate.”
“Do you know The Cove?” Megan asked.
“Isn’t that a bar downtown?”
“Yes. Every cabbie knows where it is. Be there in thirty minutes,” she said.
Before he could answer, the link closed.
* * * *
Megan was shaking when she closed the connection. She had no idea who this Niles guy was, but it couldn’t be good. She had been calling and messaging Nolan for two days without any reply, and up pops this guy wanting to meet to talk about him.
Opening a comm link to Derick, she began putting on her shoes.
“Hey, Megan, have you heard from Nolan?” Derick asked as soon as he opened the link.
“No, and I’m worried. I just got a call from a guy named Niles Jiorgenson who wants to meet me to talk about Nolan. Does the name mean anything to you?” she asked.
“Never heard of him. When and where are you going to meet?” he asked.
She glanced at her watch and said, “Twenty-seven minutes, at The Cove.”
“I’ll be there. Don’t talk to this guy without me,” Derick said.
* * * *
Megan stood in the shade of The Cove’s entrance alcove waiting for Derick. A man wearing a blue jumpsuit walked along the sidewalk. He was a bit shorter than her, slight of build, with short, sandy hair. As he neared the door, he looked at her and stopped. “Hello, Ms. Carson. I’m Niles Jiorgenson.”
“How do you know who I am?” she asked. Then she noticed the SACOM logo on his pocket and said, “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You probably know a lot about me.”
“I’m sorry to say, that’s true. Can we go inside and talk?” he asked.
“I’m waiting for my attorney,” she said coldly.
“If my intention was to take you into custody, I would have sent a security team to your apartment. This is unofficial,” he said.
She nodded in the direction of the door. “You can go inside and have a drink while you wait for me.”
“I’d like that, but I can’t drink right now. A man’s life is at stake.”
She put both hands on his chest, shoved him back into the wall, and growled, “What have you done to Nolan?”
He made no effort to resist her. “I haven’t done anything, but he is in danger. Can’t we go inside and talk?”
She glared at him for a moment before releasing him and stepping back. “Fine,” she snapped. She pushed past him and yanked open the door.
Megan looked around the dimly lit room, noting Eddie’s conspicuous absence, and wondered if Mick would be any help should this SACOM jerk try to drag her out of here. She considered stepping outside again to wait for Derick, but she desperately wanted to know what this man knew about Nolan. Walking to a booth near the bar, she sat. Niles sat across from her, his hands clasped on the table in front of him.
“You had something you wanted to say,” she prompted.
“Yes, but I’m not sure how to say this. Your boyfriend is hurt… badly.”
Leaning forward abruptly, she said through gritted teeth, “I’m going to kill you.”
“I had nothing to do with it. If you will hear me out, I’m trying to save your boyfriend,” he protested.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said. “He and my husband used to work together. You people killed my husband, you know.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your husband. I haven’t studied your file that carefully. I just looked at your picture before coming down here so I could be sure I was talking to the right person.”
“You have a lot of nerve! You killed my husband, and by the sound of it, half killed my boy… my friend, and you don’t even know who I am.”
“Look, I had nothing to do with your husband’s death, and I had nothing to do with the beating your friend took. I’m trying to save his life. If the torturing bastard gets another go at him, he won’t survive. He barely made it through last night.”
Megan gasped. For the first time, she realized the seriousness of the situation.
“May I join you?” Derick asked as he stood by the booth. Without waiting for an answer, he slid in next to Megan. “What have I missed?”
Megan nodded to Niles and said, “The janitor captain came to tell me that Nolan is barely clinging to life. He says he wants to help, but he hasn’t said how.”
Niles looked at Derick and said, “Before you say anything, I had nothing to do with Mr. Peters’ condition. He’s in our infirmary getting the best possible care. Our head of security is gua
rding him personally. We need to get him out of there and to someplace safe.” He looked at Megan. “I know you’re an EMT. Can you take him somewhere and care for him until he recovers?”
Before she could say anything, Derick placed his hand on her wrist and asked, “How are we supposed to get him out of your base?”
“I’ll deliver him to you personally, anywhere you choose,” Niles said.
“You said we needed to take him someplace safe. I assume you mean somewhere away from Dawson,” Derick said.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on. The general said we need to get him away from Dawson, preferably not to his uncle’s place. If they go looking for him, they’ll be sure to look there,” the captain said.
“None of this would have happened if you people had just left us alone,” Megan said. “Nolan doesn’t know anything. None of us have seen Carl since the trial. He didn’t even come to my husband’s funeral! Why can’t you get that through your head?”
“I believe you. However, that’s not the problem we have to deal with right now. We need to get your friend to safety. He’s going to need a lot of care. Are you up to it?” Jiorgenson asked. “If not, we can leave him in the SACOM infirmary and hope they leave him alone.”
Derick said, “We’ll take him. When will he be ready to move?”
“I don’t know. The doctor was still working on him when I left. As soon as I get back, I’ll find out and contact you. You decide where you want us to bring him and be ready on short notice. We may not have a lot of time to do this,” Niles said.
“We’ll be ready,” Megan said.
“Good. I have to get back and see how he’s doing,” Jiorgenson said as he stood up.
“How bad is he?” Megan asked.
Jiorgenson looked straight into her eyes and said, “You wouldn’t recognize him right now. He’s in bad shape. I’ll ask the doctor to write a report summarizing his condition along with instructions for his care. We’ll bring supplies and medicines with him. I have to go. You have my personal data unit address. Let me know where to meet you.” He turned and walked quickly to the door.
