He tried to give her a genuine smile. “You want me to pour you a cup, Officer Courdray?” Surely the lovebirds would behave while Lisa was here.
She squinted at him, then shook her head. “You had better let me get my own coffee. Then you won’t have to worry about spilling it.”
David sighed and carefully cradled his own mug before making way for her. As she crossed the room she looked from Paul to Sara. “What are the two of you doing here at this hour? You should’ve gone off duty hours ago.”
Sara looked at Paul, then she answered for both of them. “It was a rough night, and it was still really busy when we went off shift, so we told Officer Kirkland we’d stick around here to keep an eye on things so he and Michelle could stay out on patrol.”
Lisa nodded. “That was nice. I thought maybe you’d come to discuss the difficulties we’ll have now that the story about the sabotage of the wheat stores is getting out.”
They all turned and stared at her as she grabbed her mug from the shelf and started to pour herself a cup of coffee. David’s mouth was hanging open, but he didn’t care. “What are you talking about?”
Lisa glanced around as she took her first sip. “I can’t believe you haven’t heard. The breaking news alert should’ve sounded on all your pads.”
Shaking his head, David set his mug down, then reached into his pocket for his FURCS pad. “I don’t have mine programmed to give me the news.”
Paul and Sara glanced at each other. This time he talked. “We turned ours off. Since we weren’t on duty.”
Sighing as she sat down at the table, Lisa glared at the pair. “Well, someone told, and now everyone knows. Once people realize what it means, they’ll be upset, and there’ll be even more incidents. So this is no time to turn off your pads. What if Kirkland had needed help and couldn’t contact you?”
David found himself nodding, even though Lisa was being too harsh with them. Besides, why would anyone bother turning off their FURCS pad? Maybe if he managed to drink some of his coffee, he’d have an easier time following all this. He stuffed his own pad away and focused on making sure he picked his mug back up without spilling, so he missed some of what Lisa was saying. Something about checking to see that Brandon Radley was safe. But the man was locked up in the new detention center—surely there was nowhere safer.
Sara snorted. “Nobody will need to agitate anybody—people will get riled up all on their own. So I had better get some rest before my big meeting.” So saying she didn’t leave, but rather took the seat opposite Lisa and looked over her shoulder at Paul. “I need a backrub.”
Watching Paul hurry to obey Sara’s request, David finally managed a sip of his coffee. He could use some rest himself, but even though he swayed a bit, at least he didn’t spill any. He took another sip and thought how strange it was that Paul, a full security officer, took orders from his junior partner who was still a trainee. Of course, how they got along in their private relationship was different, and certainly not David’s business, but he had to hope Paul didn’t let her take the lead on the job. He wondered what Lisa thought about it.
Whatever Officer Courdray’s thoughts, she kept them to herself as she downed her coffee and stared into space. Sara rolled her neck and gazed up at the ceiling while Paul massaged her shoulders. Sipping his coffee with continued care, David was the first to see Grace appear.
Lisa frowned at the girl. “You’re seven minutes late, but I don’t suppose it matters.”
Considering how long it must’ve taken Grace to arrange the mass of intricate braids floating around her head, David was impressed that she’d managed to make it in at all, and he was surprised by his partner’s cavalier attitude—Lisa was totally by the book when it came to the job. “Why doesn’t it matter?”
His partner turned her frown on him. “In addition to Chief Nelson, Sgt. Carruthers is also out sick. MacTierney will have to cover for him tonight, so he won’t be able to continue with his orientation today. So what do we do with Grace?” She returned to the girl in question. “Do we send you home?”
Watching Grace shake her head, and not send a single hair flying, somehow made David dizzy. She was protesting the idea of leaving. “Isn’t there some way I could be useful here? Even if I’ve yet to complete my orientation?”
“You could ride along with David and me to get some experience. He doesn’t seem to be a hundred percent today, so I could use an extra helper.”
David felt as if he was playing catch-up. “Chief Nelson is out sick?”
Lisa gave him an indulgent look. “Not just him. Director Miles and Sgt. Carruthers, as well as a few of the regular guards and some admin types. There was suspicion of foul play, of course, and they were all rushed to the clinic. But the sisters have run the tests, and it’s nothing but the flu.”
“One of the sisters was just here yesterday, giving us a checkup, and she gave the chief a clean bill of health.” She had told David he was also in perfect health. Then he’d had to go and stay up the entire night with Ken, and look at him now.
Sara snorted. “Is this what things are coming to around here? If we can’t even rely on the sisters to do their job right, no wonder people are getting angry.” Paul frowned at the back of her head, but Sara wasn’t paying him any attention.
Lisa clearly didn’t care for Sara’s attitude either. “Anyway, we’ll all have more work to do, so perhaps you and Paul should go get that rest you need.” She turned to David. “And you might want to drink that coffee a bit faster—I’d appreciate having you awake, since you are officially on duty.”
David stared at the forgotten mug in his hands, then brought it up for a large gulp. The dark liquid had cooled considerably, but it still helped. “I think I’ll need a second cup.” And probably a third.
Grace was standing to one side, observing them all with appalling alertness. Guzzling down the rest of his coffee, David was vaguely disgruntled that she was so wide awake. Lisa was still sipping slowly and coolly appraising Sara and David. Sara leaned back and relaxed to enjoy that massage she’d bullied Paul into giving her. Then the sound of voices in the hall drew all their attention to the door. It was the night shift coming in at last.
Michelle walked hesitantly into the room, while Officer Kirkland propped himself against the frame and nodded at Lisa. “Officer Mori can give you our report. I’ve got a couple of yahoos in the cart to run over to the detention center. I wish I knew where to find the hooch they’re getting their hands on.”
David wasn’t sure whether he meant for getting rid of the moonshine or drinking it. Lisa just shook her head. “We have a difficult enough time dealing with the troublemakers themselves. We don’t have the personnel to search for their stills.”
Kirkland chuckled. “Maybe that’s something to do on my time off. Anyway, I’ll take care of the idiots I have in hand, and then I’ll be on my way home. So this is me passing the baton to you, Officer Courdray.” With that the man pushed himself away from the door jamb and lumbered down the hall.
Sara was shaking her head. “People need something to help them deal with everything we’re going through. I don’t think we ought to be coming down so hard, just because they’re getting a little rowdy—with the administration lying to them, they need to let off a little steam.”
Paul’s hands on her shoulders stopped suddenly. “Nobody has lied to anyone. The administration kept some information from the public—and maybe they shouldn’t have—but they clearly thought it was for the best, and we should give them the benefit of the doubt.”
Glaring at him over her shoulder, Sara grunted. “I’ll let you know when I want to hear your opinion about something. And I’ll tell you what it should be first.”
Paul stiffened and took a step back from her but didn’t say anything. David plunged into the silence on his behalf. “You can’t treat him like that, Sara. I don’t care how besotted he is with you—” Nor could he imagine why. “Besides being a senior officer and due respect for that alon
e, he’s your partner.”
Sara shifted in her chair to scowl at him. “Now you’re playing teacher’s pet and tattling on us. You can’t even stand up straight, and yet you’re going to lecture me about showing respect?”
Lisa looked at him with concern. “You do look a bit unsteady, David. Are you sure you’re feeling alright? If you need more sleep, you might as well go home. I’ll have Grace with me.”
He smiled at his partner. “I’m fine, really. Just having a hard time waking up this morning.” He set his empty mug down on the counter. “Let me get a second cup of coffee.”
But she wasn’t finished with him. “Do I understand from your outburst that Trainee King and Officer Macklin are involved in some kind of romantic relationship?”
“Sure. I knew you wouldn’t approve.”
“Then why didn’t you say something? How long has this affair been going on, and how long have you known about it?”
David tried to look sheepish. “I thought everyone knew.” He shot Sara a scowl. “And if you didn’t know about it, I didn’t want to be the one to tell. As for how long—”
Sara cut him off. “It’s nobody’s business what I do in my personal life, much less how long Paul and I have been together.” She shot a glare at Lisa. “It’s not for any of you to approve or disapprove of who I go out with.”
Lisa shook her head. “It’s not for me to approve or disapprove of your personal relationships, Sara—but Paul isn’t just a senior officer and your partner, he’s supposed to be supervising your training. This romance or whatever it is would be highly inappropriate even without that. As it is, I can’t permit this to continue.”
“You can’t tell me who I can or can’t be involved with!”
Clenching her jaw, Lisa stared steadily at her. “I wouldn’t even try to do that. But I can’t allow you to continue working together. So I’m putting you both with other partners. You clearly need a more experienced training officer anyway.”
Sara was thinking more quickly than David and saw the consequences of that right away. “Splitting us up means we’d be on different shifts. That’s just a backhanded way of trying to break us up. This has nothing to do with the job—you don’t want us to be together because Paul is black.”
Lisa sighed. “That has nothing at all to do with it. It’s about being professional in the way we conduct ourselves.”
David felt really slow, trying to follow that. Why should Paul’s being black have any bearing on this, any more than the fact he was tall or smart? David almost snickered as he considered how different the two were—Sara was short and not too bright, in addition to being very white.
Trainee King wasn’t going down without a fight though. “You don’t have the authority to make that decision. When Chief Nelson returns, we’ll see what he has to say. Until then, Salazar and Kirkland have been supervising the shift Paul and I work, and they don’t seem to have any problem with us.”
“Are you saying either or both of them knew of this relationship and approved?”
Sara stood at last and glared down at Lisa. “I’ve never tried to hide it. And no one has said a word to me before now.”
Lisa calmly took another sip of coffee. “I doubt either of them actually approves if they know, which I wonder about. But it doesn’t matter. With Chief Nelson out, I’m in charge of Security during the day, and I’m splitting the two of you up. Go home, and I will let you both know what shift you’ll be working, and with whom, as soon as I figure out how to shuffle around the schedule.”
“We’ll see what Salazar has to say about this.”
“I’ll consult with both Officers Salazar and Kirkland about who should be in charge of your training now, though I don’t think it should be me, but don’t imagine either of them will let you continue the way you have been. I’m putting an end to it now.”
Sara fumed. “I don’t see why I should still need a training officer at all. I’ve had enough experience, and I’ve qualified on all my tests. This is sheer bias on your part.”
“Chief Nelson is the one who decides when you get promoted, and obviously he doesn’t think you’re ready yet. Surely you’re not accusing him of bias?”
Gritting her teeth, Sara jerked her head at Paul and pushed past Michelle on her way out. Hesitating for a minute to give everyone a sheepish smile, Paul followed her with clear reluctance. David considered him a good man who deserved better.
Turning back to grab the coffee pot, he listened to Michelle summarizing the night shift for his partner. Or tried to. He found he couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying. He could hear Lisa talking to him and turned around, leaving the coffee pot in place—though he really needed that second mug.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying, partner?”
Lisa looked at him strangely. “I was asking you what’s the matter. Maybe you should sit down and let me get you a refill.”
She’d become all blurry now. Pressing his eyes shut tight and opening them again didn’t help—she remained a fuzzy image sitting there, but he thought she was staring at him. He was trying to recall what she’d been asking him when he realized he was falling forward. A sharp pain cracked across his head, then everything went black.
Chapter 3
Monday in the Hospital with Miles
8:20 a.m. Monday, May 19th
ANTHONY struggled trying to get out from under the sheets and out of the hospital bed. Miles just sat there propped up against his pillows—with the book he was reading in one hand and the orange juice he was sipping through a straw in the other. Gesturing with his FURCS pad, Anthony glared at the man. “I don’t know how you can just lie around like that, as if you’re on vacation, while all this is going on.”
His friend simply smiled at him. “What should I be doing? Or you? We’re supposed to be sick, and we might as well leave everything to others.”
“I feel like something the cat dragged in, but I’m not sure you look ill at all.”
Miles grinned. “I certainly have the flu, just like you, though the symptoms seem to be taking longer to manifest in my case.”
“When they do, you won’t think you’re on vacation anymore.” Having managed to swing one leg to the floor, Anthony frowned and adjusted the flimsy paper gown they’d given him to wear. “How can you relax now, with the news breaking about the wheat stores having been sabotaged? And that’s on top of this infection and what its effects might be. I wish you’d told me about it earlier.”
“Would you have done anything different if you had known?”
Anthony snorted. “That’s not the point.” No, it wouldn’t have made a difference, but he didn’t have to admit that. “You shouldn’t have kept Chief Cameron and me in the dark.” Miles had finally opened up yesterday, asking that one of them volunteer for testing this cure, because he’d needed their help.
Miles’ next comment confirmed that suspicion. “As soon as you needed to know about it, I told you everything. And anyway, if I’d told you earlier there would’ve been nothing you could do but worry, and you had plenty of problems already. But now there is something you can do, and you’re doing it.”
The man was secretive by nature and played his cards close to his chest, so Anthony wondered about that ‘everything’. He planted both feet firmly on the cold floor and tested his balance. His legs might be weak, but he thought he could stand up alright. He stayed sitting on the edge of the bed, though, giving Miles his best glare. “Kat needs to know too, doesn’t she? Even if she isn’t showing any symptoms yet, it could hit her any time, and when it does, she should know what’s happening to her.”
Miles calmly sipped his orange juice before saying something. “Verity and Ken both know what my daughter is facing, and they can help her better than I could anyway. And then there’s my wife.”
With a sigh, Anthony gave up trying to get out of bed and began tapping buttons on his pad—to make sure his officers had been alerted to the likelihood of increasing violence, now tha
t people knew they had been running out of flour.
Meanwhile, Miles continued talking. “Even if it means feeling horrible, both of us can surely use the break. You’re always telling me I work too hard, but you’re even worse. You can’t even lie still here in the hospital. Tapping away on that thing to try to manage your staff? I’m sure they can do their jobs without you. I know Katherine must have them hopping over at the Guards.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” And technically she outranked his senior officers in Security now. Only she had better not try to exercise that—those lines of authority had never been clearly delineated because Anthony had never imagined he might be out of action for this long. But he trusted that his senior staff could run everything without Kat looking over their shoulders, and they certainly wouldn’t appreciate it if she tried. The sooner he was over this ‘flu’ and out of here, the better.
He squinted hard at Miles. “However bad I feel, I could be at work doing my job if you hadn’t insisted on isolating everybody. And you’re one to talk—I saw you sending messages a minute ago yourself.”
“Just one to my daughter, telling her I wouldn’t work, even for her. And you know very well why we need to be quarantined. But someone could be popping in any minute. We don’t have enough privacy, so watch your words while we’re here.”
“Whatever did she want you to do?” Kat would not ask for help lightly.
“Something she couldn’t do herself, obviously.”
With some difficulty, Anthony managed to control himself. He closed his eyes and took a very deep breath. “Stop being mysterious, Jon.”
After having some inner conversation with himself, Miles nodded. “She wanted me to do some detective work for her, here at the clinic. It seems one of the infected tried to scale the fence to get out, and she wants to know why. Of course, I can’t tell her—so I gave her the excuse that I’m in no shape to play Sherlock Holmes.”
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