Chapter 35 - The Kraken Gate
‘Damn it, Lieutenant Scott, you’re a bloody idiot! What in the name of Aripole’s tits are you playing at?’ Anger swamped my surprise and disappointment. I had been looking forward to another night in Jenniver’s arms more than I realised.
‘You’re in danger.’
‘I know that. You’re pointing a Fennerick revolver at me.’
Benjamin lowered the gun. ‘Making a point,’ he said. ‘You’ve been attacked twice and you don’t seem to be taking it seriously. You need to take adequate precautions.’
‘I don’t need a lecture, thank you.’
‘Are you sure? You don’t lock your door and I’m not even sure if you’ve set a watch.’
‘I have set a watch!’ I retorted. Benjamin seemed cold and business-like. Perhaps he’d given up pretending to be my friend. I was angry, but tried to keep my tone professional. ‘We security vet everyone who comes on to the estate. We have an arrangement with the staff about locking the outer doors at eleven bells each night. We’ve nailed the windows shut and barricaded the main reception room doors. To set a meaningful watch on a building this size would need at least three of us on duty at all times. I can’t maintain that kind of roster with only seven people. What do you suggest?’
‘Let me help you.’
‘What?’
‘You heard. I want to help. My job is to secure the grounds here. I have enough men to cover this building, and the mansion around the clock.’
I shrugged out of my woollen tunic and hung it in the wardrobe. It annoyed me that he was right. My team were at risk and I’d been ignoring the issue. I turned to face the man who had betrayed me and tried to put my trust in him. It soured my guts to admit that I couldn’t do the job without him.
‘I’ve been set upon in my own home, three of us were attacked on the air-train coming here. How do I know you weren’t involved?’
Benjamin shook his head in disbelief and showed me the revolver again. ‘If I wanted you dead…’ He didn’t finish the sentence, but I had to concede the point. He’d already had ample opportunity to get rid of me, if that was his mission, but that didn’t necessarily mean that we were on the same side.
Director Harman and the council weren’t rubbing along too well and it was clear that the chancellor had an agenda of his own. Scott and his men were here because the chancellor had the power to insist, something that I had made easier by destroying Winslow Hall. I had a sudden fear that I didn’t understand Harman’s motives entirely. He could have defended his position against the council by making me the scapegoat, and yet, here I was, and Lockhouse Security still had the contract. You need to play a smarter game, Connie, I told myself. What was that old saying? “Take tea with your enemy so that you get to know him; just be sure to brew the tea yourself.”
‘Alright. We need to secure this place, the observatory and the mansion itself.’
‘Three sites ranging from small to large with shifts of two, four and six people each, all outside. The mansion will need another three doing the rounds inside. Do you think a shift change every four bells will work?’
‘It will if you’ve got the people to sustain it.’
‘Well, it needs a minimum of eighteen, thirty-six if it needs to last long-term, or fewer if we can scale back during the day. I’ve got forty under my charge and you’re team is seven strong. By my reckoning we’ve got enough people.’ Benjamin managed a brief smile.
He was right. My little team had been stretched thin. The marines would help to keep us safe, but the situation was about to get worse as some of us would be heading through the gate.
‘Alright,’ I said. ‘But at least one of mine joins every shift.’
‘Good.’ Benjamin nodded. He stood up and tugged at the edges of his regimental jacket, brushing at invisible specks.
‘Is that it?’
‘Yes, why?’ His tone was casual, careless even.
‘You come all the way over here from the main house in the middle of the night to tell me that? You could have stopped me at any time during the day.’
Benjamin’s eyes were blue steel. ‘Like I said…I had to make a point or you wouldn’t have listened.’
I opened my mouth but he stopped me again, putting a hand up. ‘You’re a stubborn bitch and that’s the truth, Connie. No! You’ve carried this grudge of yours around beyond all reason, and you’ve never once sought to understand what really happened between you and me.’
I gathered my rage, remembering the tribunal and Lieutenant Benjamin Scott giving evidence against me, but before I could say anything, he tossed a grenade into the conversation.
‘Anyway…I think you were expecting someone else.’ He was matter-of-fact. I expected jealousy, but was unable to detect any. Again he interrupted me as I fought to find the words. ‘Don’t say anything. It’s none of my business.’ He tried to move for the door, but of course I was standing in the way.
‘Wait…’ What could I say about Jenniver Betz? There was nothing to say. She’d stopped by one night to live out a fantasy, a crush she’d had during her college years. She didn’t need me and I didn’t need her. My heart hardened. ‘You’re dead right, it’s none of your godsdamned business, Lieutenant Scott. Let’s keep this professional shall we? We tried the personal touch a few years ago, but someone put a gun to its head and pulled the trigger.’
‘Fine,’ said Benjamin, curtly. ‘Be like that. Maybe one day you’ll grow up and want to know what really happened back then. Maybe I’ll be around to ask, but maybe I won’t give a damn anymore. I’ll organise my people for the first watch. First shift begins at midnight in…’ he glanced at his watch. ‘…one quarter bell.’
‘Correction, the first shift started at ten bells. Inigo and I are already on it, this building only. James Dunn, Mahkran Malek and Ellen Tremain take over from me at two bells of the morning. Your men can take the observatory and mansion. Any trouble, we’ll send word. How’s that?’
‘Should work, but my men don’t know your team.’
‘Likewise. We’d better use a code phrase to identify ourselves.’
‘Koulomb Gate.’
‘Too obvious.’
‘Alright, what do you suggest?’
‘Protocol Hoops,’ I said. It sounded suitably random.
‘Fine,’ said Benjamin, and left to organise the watch.
Comments
Post a Comment