Changing Tides

by Simone Anderson

  Brett knew the messages did little to reassure anyone. There had been an unprecedented demand to see those who had been institutionalized. While no mention of General Williams had been made public, within twenty-four hours of the broadcast, everyone had known who the person shown in the broadcast had been.

  Adding to the mounting tension were the lists. Names of people, their birthdates and their death dates, as well as photos of the graves. The lists were released randomly with no common point of origin. So far, no one had been able to determine how it was being done, who was doing it or why.

  Glancing at the time, Brett grabbed the files he’d been working on and made his way to the conference room. It was the same one he’d met his father in weeks earlier. This time, it was filled with top security personnel, including Brigadier General Reynolds—and he hoped Orion. Brett hadn’t yet been able to speak with the general about Orion, but he’d made a point to be outside every night when Orion was running. He’d joined him the last three times.

  Orion no longer protested the kiss Brett gave him each night, but he flatly refused to go up to Brett’s quarters with him. Nor did he invite Brett up to his. They were finding ways to communicate with each other. It was a slow, frustrating process for both of them. Brett was fairly certain he was the first person to try to get to know the man in years, possibly his whole life.

  Brett entered the conference room, automatically searching for the man he’d become enamored with. Hiding his disappointment when didn’t see Orion, he took a seat at the far end of the table. Hope sparked inside him when he realized Brigadier General Reynolds wasn’t present either. He sent up a silent prayer that Orion would be accompanying the general to the meeting.

  Several long minutes passed before security called to say the general was on his way up. Fear of failing shot through Brett and was quickly chased away by adrenaline. The sudden realization that he was the youngest and lowest ranking person in the room did little to reassure him. It wasn’t often he’d attended security meetings with the base commander present, but Major Fitzwilliams had reiterated these were unusual circumstances.

  “Room atten-hut!” The order was snapped out as soon as the door opened, letting the general in.

  Heart pounding in his chest, Brett stood still and waited to see Orion. The door closed behind the senior officer. Disappointment pushed away any remaining fear or adrenaline.

  “At ease. Be seated,” Brigadier General Reynolds said. Silently, chairs moved and people sat down. Papers shifted as everyone situated themselves. “So, where are we on these terrorists responsible for the video and lists?”

  “Lieutenant DeMarco has that report,” Major Fitzwilliams answered.

  “Go ahead, Lieutenant,” Brigadier General Reynolds said, flatly.

  “Yes, Sir,” Brett replied taking a deep breath. “We know that a group calling itself Citizens for a Free Aelland is now claiming responsibility for the original and ongoing breaches. However, aside from the name, there’s little known about the group. They are also calling President General Landry a tyrant and dictator, demanding her resignation and execution and asking the people to rise up and demand the democratic government we once had. They have yet to release any sort of manifesto, so the true purpose of their agenda is unknown. At this time, we have to assume they are trying to overthrow the government.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Unfortunately, no, Sir. We have reexamined previous suspicious persons, as well as looked over any new information, and we can find no one associated with this group. There is no history of them, no prior mention of them anywhere by anyone.”

  “I see.”

  “There were several statements made shortly after the terrorists made their initial announcements. However, except in one case, all of those appeared randomly and without any way to back them up or connect them to the group or any one person. They were conflicted and offered no real information. We don’t know which, if any were made by actual members of this group.”

  “And the condition of the person we did know about.”

  “My understanding is that he died during the interrogation, without revealing any information, Sir.”

  “Here?”

  “No, Sir, at Fort Landry.”

  “I see. Do we know how they are getting into the system?” the general asked.

  “No, Sir. Not that I’ve been able to determine.”

  Brigadier General Reynolds nodded. “Write up a formal report detailing everything you know and any suspicions you have, and have it to me this evening. Because of the group’s level of sophistication and knowledge, Homeland Security thinks it’s most likely based out of the capitol. They will handle the investigation from now on.”

  Brett hesitated before responding. “Yes, Sir.”

  In his gut, he disagreed, but there were no clues, no information pointing to who the Citizens for a Free Aelland were, what their message was or how to get rid of them.

  “You disagree with this decision, Lieutenant?” Brigadier General Reynolds asked.

  “Yes, Sir, but I have nothing else to offer, no other evidence or information to say otherwise,” Brett replied. “Homeland Security has more resources and information available. Hopefully, they can make more progress than we’ve been able to.”

  Suspicion wasn’t enough. There needed to be proof. More than that, his instincts could be wrong. That could cost lives. Better to let the capitol handle it and get it right than to trust it with lower-ranking and inexperienced staff.

  “Very true. There are still three other topics to discuss,” Brigadier General Reynolds said, nodding slightly. “So, let’s move on, shall we?”

  Time crept by, and Brett dutifully took notes and provided information or updates whenever possible. All the while, his mind alternated between thinking about Orion and the video. By the end of the meeting, he’d resigned himself to the fact Homeland Security in the capitol would take over the investigation. They were likely to continue taking the most important issues for themselves.

  That realization begged a question he hadn’t asked himself in years. Would his life always be mediocre with no chance to prove he could do more? Was there nothing more to life than suspicion and stagnation?

  When the meeting was over, Brett stood and gathered his things, his mind still turning over the questions.

  “Lieutenant DeMarco.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Brett said, looking up at the base commander as the older man got ready to leave the conference room.

  “We’ll discuss the other matter tonight. Seventeen-thirty.”

  Brett nodded. “Yes, Sir.” His heart skipped a beat. His joy was quickly replaced by fear. What if the General said Brett wasn’t allowed to see Orion again? What would he do then? Would he be willing to give Orion up? Would he be willing to walk away and never see the man again?

  Brett mulled the question as he made his way back to his desk and wrote up the report the general had requested. Various scenarios and consequences played out in his mind over the course of the day. Maybe. It was the answer he’d reached and finally acknowledged still didn’t completely sit well with him. Maybe.

  He didn’t want to lose the other man, but he wasn’t deluding himself either. He didn’t love Orion, and the younger man didn’t love him. The potential for love was there, but Brett wasn’t sure he wanted to risk everything on a maybe. He blew out a breath. Maybe, he was deluding himself. The connection he felt with Orion was stronger than anything he’d ever felt with another person. Stronger, he knew, than it had been with Taren. What Brett needed, and couldn’t have, was more time.

  Picking up the report, he secured his work area and left the building. Orion was still on Brett’s mind when he approached the base commander’s office. Sex was still an option if he didn’t pick a mate. The only difference was he’d be sterilized within twenty-four hours of his birthday.

  He’d finally found the information he needed to make his choices—information his parents hadn’t told him.
He’d be allowed to live alone or with someone. Promotions would be easier to obtain and there were additional options open to him if he didn’t choose a mate. He would never be allowed children, even adopted, but there would be an increase in his paycheck for remaining single.

  “May I help you?” the general’s secretary asked. She was a blonde-haired, middle-aged woman dressed in the same dark green jacket and light green shirt as he wore. The rank on her sleeves told him she was a tech sergeant.

  “Yes, Sergeant, I have an appointment with Brigadier General Reynolds at seventeen-thirty,” Brett replied. He was early, but he couldn’t have waited any longer if he’d wanted to. He was too anxious about what the general would say about his relationship with Orion.

  “Ah, yes, here it is, Lieutenant DeMarco. You’re early. I’ll let the general know you’re here, but his current meeting is running late. If you’ll have a seat right over there…”

  Brett thanked the woman and sat down where she’d indicated. As he tried not to think about Orion, the note Brett had received earlier in the week weighed heavily on his mind. He still had no idea who’d sent it. While no more messages had been left, items in his quarters and in his workspace had been shifted. It would have been too small to notice if he hadn’t been on the lookout for anything unusual.

  The door across from him opened. Brett jumped to his feet.

  “Lieutenant DeMarco, come in. Please.”

  “Good evening, Sir,” Brett said, following Brigadier General Reynolds into the office.

  “Please have a seat,” the man said, settling in a chair behind the large desk.

  Brett sat in one of the chairs across from the base commander and glanced about him. A second door was along one wall, windows decorated another, still a third had a large painting of General Landry after she’d become President. Around the room, mementos from the general’s career were intermingled with governmental proclamations and military history.

  There was a soft knock, and the door opened.

  Brett’s heart stuttered; his stomach clenched. Orion brought in a tray of food. He nodded toward general before turning around. Brett jumped to his feet. Anger surged through him. Bruises littered the younger man’s face, neck and arms.

  “Who did this to you?” Brett demanded.

  Orion looked at his feet, refusing to meet Brett’s gaze even when Brett grabbed his chin and forced his head up.

  “Are you all right?” He pulled Orion into a hug then swore when the younger man winced. “All over?”

  Orion inclined his head.

  “Did they…did they rape you?” Brett forced the words out through the lump in his throat.

  Orion shook his head.

  “Did you call security?”

  “Yes, Lieutenant, security was called,” the general interrupted. “Unfortunately, he can’t tell us what happen, give a description or point out who did it. It occurred in an area where there are no cameras.”

  Brett looked up, blinking rapidly. He’d forgotten the general was there. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Leave us alone for a bit, boy.”

  Orion nodded and pulled out of Brett’s arms. Brett relented only after seeing Orion’s pleading look. Cold rage drove through him. His man hadn’t been raped. It was small comfort against the knowledge he’d been beaten sometime after Brett had left him at the door to his dormitory last night.

  “Here is the report you asked for,” Brett said, turning back toward Brigadier General Reynolds after the door had closed behind Orion and handing him the partially bent folder.

  “Thank you. I’ll send this to the capitol, and we can go back to dealing with local threats.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Now, you wished to speak to me about my special staff member, Orion Hellman?”

  Brett swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yes, Sir. I would like to see him, to claim him for a spouse in a couple of months, if he’ll agree.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “I care about him in a way that could become love, Sir.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “Because it’s similar to what I felt for Doctor Taren Prescott, the man I was supposed to marry until he was murdered, Sir.”

  “I see,” Brigadier General Reynolds said, leaning back in his chair. He clasped his hands behind his head.

  Brett held his breath.

  “Why do you think you need my permission to see him?”

  “He is a special staff member, and it has come to my attention that you have to approve those kinds of decisions, Sir.”

  “I do, yes. I have no problem with you seeing him or fucking him,” General Reynolds answered.

  Brett waited, not allowing relief to flow through him yet. The general wasn’t finished.

  “But I can’t let you marry him.”

  “Why not, Sir? I can look after him if that’s the issue.”

  “No, it isn’t. One of the conditions I agreed to in order to keep him out of an institution was that he never married or have children. I cannot go against those conditions. If he were to marry, they would throw him back in an institution for the rest of his life.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Brett said flatly. Who had made those choices for his man? How did he tell Orion about the general’s decision? Brett swore silently. Who did that to their child? To any child? He tried to take comfort in the fact he and Orion could live together, but failed. The general or someone else would always make the decisions where Orion was concerned. It grated against Brett in a way he’d never thought possible.

  There was a soft knock on the door before it opened. Brett’s heart flipped as Orion walked in. Standing, Brett walked over to the younger man and wrapped him in his arms. As he breathed in the other man’s scent, the rest of the world fell away. Orion pushed against him gently. Brett looked down when the other man’s hand cupped his cheek. Brett kissed the palm. Orion backed away slightly shaking his head.

  “We will find a way,” Brett whispered. “I will see you tonight.”

  Orion nodded, and Brett reluctantly let him go.

  Chapter Three

  Orion stretched, looking around for the source of his discomfort. Seeing nothing, he shook his head. He was upset, that was all. Brigadier General Reynolds had told him about Brett’s request to see and marry him. He would be allowed to see Brett as long as Orion followed orders, but marriage was completely out of the question. He’d been reminded that his life outside of an institution was now solely at the general’s discretion.

  Orion had seen the glint in the older man’s eyes. Orion and Brett were about to become pawns in something neither of them could control, and it wouldn’t end well. He didn’t doubt it. The question was what were their options? Brett needed to make his choices soon, while Orion’s choices would never be asked or considered. Sighing, Orion shook his head. There were no real options. No real hope for them. The best they could manage would be a quick fuck now and then. It wasn’t what the older man deserved. Brett seemed more determined than ever to see Orion. It would be up to Orion to change his mind.

  Discomfort snaked through him, pushing thoughts of Brett aside. The past week had all branches of the government in an uproar, adding to the tension he felt. The release of the original video and the following lists had sparked a national outrage. This afternoon, video footage of a partially dug mass grave, with some skeletons still wearing street clothes and some wearing the bright-yellow jumpsuits that were worn in the institutions had been released. The reaction by the citizens of Aelland had been immediate. So had the government’s response. Curfews had been decreed across the country. The security forces on the bases had been given more leeway, however, most bases were requiring everyone to be inside the gates by twenty-one hundred and in their quarters by twenty-two hundred unless reporting for or getting off from duty. Everything felt perched on the edge of a fence. He just wasn’t sure which way things would land.

  Orion bit his lip and set out across the pavement along the running
trail. He was farther along than usual when he finally spotted Brett near a stand of trees, almost completely hidden. Orion came to a halt, his heart skipping a beat, before slowly approaching Brett. It was unlike the other man to hide. The wary look in the Brett’s eyes had Orion’s senses on alert. Fear rolled off the other man. Orion stepped closer. He cupped Brett’s cheek and tried to get the man to talk by using the series of gestures they’d started to develop.

  “I…you…they…I-I have to go. Security is looking for me. At least, I think they are,” Brett stammered, pulling Orion to him and back behind the trees. “They—someone—ransacked my room. I saw them. They didn’t see me. I don’t think they saw me anyway.”

  Orion nodded. He needed to get Brett off the base. Someone was setting him up for a fall, and if Brett fell after asking to marry Orion, Orion would be seen in the same light. More so, while Brett’s family might be able to save him, Orion had no one to turn to.

  He mentally swore. He needed his voice back. Needed to be able to communicate with the other man. The familiar rumbling of a maintenance truck filled the air around them before he could think of a way to talk to Brett.

  “Who—?”

  Orion shook his head, momentarily hating his life, the decisions that had been made for him and the consequences he had to live with. After years of not talking, long after survival habits had developed, he doubted he’d be able to say anything.

  “Hellman. It’s Miller. We need to go. Now.”

  Orion recognized the voice. Still, he took a moment to make sure no one else was around before stepping from the trees and up to the truck.

  “A glitch has the cameras not working. We need to go now.”

  Orion held up his hand, turned and sprinted back to Brett. Grabbing the man’s hand, he motioned for him to follow.