Chapter 5 #2
“It is your job.” I shift my eyes to Vella with a question on my face.
“They were talking about planting more explosives on the village road to add to our perimeter protections. But villagers use that road and might inadvertently set them off. All I did was mention that fact, and they got all huffy, and then Roderick bit my head off.”
“I’m responsible for the perimeter on that side,” Roderick bursts out, raising himself to his full, not insignificant height.
There’s an old-school machismo that’s alive and well in him. He’s a decent man with a good heart and a clear purpose to oppose our oppressive government, but he still lashes out against challenges by women more than by men.
I get Vella’s indignation. I could feel it too if I let myself.
“You are responsible,” I tell him. “But you need to make sure you’re leading your team within our unified principles.
One of which is to never, ever let noncombatants get caught in the cross fire.
There will be no explosives on the village road.
If our current booby traps aren’t secure enough for your satisfaction, you need to think of something safer to implement.
And you also need to drill that principle into the heads of your team.
That should never have been a viable point of discussion. ”
Roderick doesn’t like this. Either my words or my tone. Possibly both.
He bristles visibly and steps toward me. He’s a lot taller than me and twice as broad. He’s probably spent his life using his physical bulk to his advantage. It can be intimidating, and he’s aware of it.
But right now he’s trying to intimidate me, and it’s not going to work.
I don’t move even an inch, except to incline my head more so I can hold my glare steady.
“I can’t control every thought of my team,” he finally grumbles. He still hasn’t backed off. “I just don’t want interference.”
I hate this. Hate it. How the hell have I gotten myself in a position of authority over this man?
All I ever wanted was to do something worthwhile to oppose the government like my father did.
Like my father died for.
“If your team goes off the leash this way, you’ll be getting interference from someone. And even if Vella was telling you something not as on target as this was, the appropriate response is never a childish temper tantrum.”
I know—I know—this will rile him up, but I need to see how far his resistance goes.
He doesn’t lash out at me like I half feared. He’s as mad as fire, but he restrains it into a shaky simmer.
He doesn’t back off, however, and evidently Ben has had enough. I’ve felt him just behind my right shoulder this whole time. And now he steps forward, putting his large body between me and Roderick.
After a few seconds, the other man finally steps back and drops his head with a wordless mutter.
“What was that?” I ask, cool but still not angry. Mostly I feel kind of sick. I don’t think I was made for this sort of interaction.
“Nothing.”
“If there’s more that’s on your mind, you’re welcome to tell me. I don’t hold it against folks for voicing legitimate concerns. You’re still worried about the safety of our south side?”
I ask this last thing as a face-saving escape route, and he takes it.
“Yeah. I think we should beef it up some. They like routine, but they’re not all buffoons in the Capitol. They might try to come at us from behind next time.”
I nod. “You could be right. So work with your team to make a plan for added security, and then run it by Ben.”
“Okay. I will. Sorry about the outburst.”
I give him a half shrug. “Tensions are running high for obvious reasons. But Vella’s been with me from the beginning. She’s not going to interfere when there’s no call.”
“Understood.” He gives Vella a reluctant nod.
She’s still annoyed by him, but she knows the right move. She nods back.
Relieved this is almost over, I glance at the sky to gauge the time. There’s only about an hour left of light and still no word of a new contingent of troops coming this way.
I figured it wouldn’t happen until tomorrow. One thing that’s true about decision-making in the Capitol is that it’s always slowed and weighed down by endless paperwork. And they never send out guards after dark.
They’ll probably be heading this way tomorrow at the same time they were today.
Any more than two trucks would catch attention. People would question whether there’s a rebel threat in the area, whether someone is defying the government to such an extent that it takes an army to subdue.
Patterson, the former president, was originally a military commander, and he functioned that way. Vincent isn’t. He’s a politician at heart.
And thus always cowed by public opinion.
My expectation all this time is that they’d send two units and two trucks on the second day.
After they lose that force too, they might just call this outpost a wash.
They never used it for administrative functions the way they do some of their other outposts.
It was mostly a convenient launch point for troops leaving the Arsenal. They can do without it.
And I’m betting everything on Vincent losing this outpost rather than letting the news get out that a ragtag rebel group has won such a coup against Central Cities guards.