3 Roman
Roman
“Coverage is in place at the northern gates. Does anyone have eyes on Rabbit yet?” I let the radio drop to my side and raised my rifle scope, scanning the world beyond Ethica’s city walls and the normal hustle and bustle of the Fringes below.
It was a nice day today. Like always, on our side of the wall at least. The Fringes—the structures outside Ethica’s governing rule and wealth—still benefited from the controlled dome weather ozone, but they didn’t get the artificial cooling breeze.
Nor did they get any help. Or supplies. Or anything other than the supposed protection of the city.
I felt bad for them, but they were hardy.
Most lower-class citizens I knew were.
The radio on my hip was silent, but I cursed under my breath when I heard his voice come over the earpiece I wore to communicate with top brass.
“Stop calling me Rabbit, asshole.”
I pulled the radio to my lips. “You’re not allowed to be on here. This is a secure line.”
I’m sure everyone thought I was crazy, talking to myself, but I had no way to communicate with him directly. I didn’t even know how he managed to hack my earpiece.
It wasn’t like he’d get in trouble. The smooth-talking bastard could get away with murder.
“But tell me that you’re here,” I said.
No answer.
“Rabbit?” I called again.
Nothing. Damn it.
“Lieutenant, we’re ready.” The radio buzzed at my side. Staff Sergeant Marcus gave the all-clear, tactfully ignoring my rants about Rabbit. They were used to it by now.
And that was my cue.
On my way to the stairs, I paused to inspect the troops in place on the western watch tower. A nervous tension crackled in the air. The people below in the Fringes and the citizens behind us in the city carried on with their normal lives, ignorant of the very real threat approaching.
“Now,” the all-coms relayed.
My radio went silent again, as did my earpiece.
A quick shimmer, invisible to the untrained eye.
The forcefield meant to keep the mutants out collapsed.
My trigger finger twitched involuntarily and I paused between breaths, watching an older model, solar-powered Kia that looked to be on its last legs come driving through the energy fields flanked by an all-terrain vehicle I’d seen before.
It was driven by Ethan, a human techie who traveled between the city and Anubis Pack, serving as a liaison between the southern gates.
I raised my rifle scope to count heads.
There was Ethan as expected. And four more in the all-terrain vehicle. One of which must’ve been Alpha Jareth of Anubis, and the red-head beside him was Alpha Kera from Cerberus. Beta Coral, and her mate, Skoll, made up the other two.
I recited their names from memory, having studied their images during training. My scope went to the Kia. I quickly counted three female heads. The side of a brunette had me lingering a moment too long before the Kia disappeared from view into the Fringes.
Seven shifters. So far, so good. They were sticking to the plan. Rumor from some of the intelligence officers said this was a ploy to get us to open the gates, but I didn’t hang out with them enough to fall for their tin-foil-hat conspiracies.
I wasn’t sure why the wolf shifters requested a meeting here in city limits, nor why the council had arranged it. That was all above my paygrade. As long as they followed protocol, we were good.
“Lieutenant,” Sgt. Lutten, the fresh-faced corporal who’d run on patrol with me a time or two in my old unit and was now a full-grown sergeant, looked at me for direction.
I was still getting used to this paygrade and title, but leading them came naturally. There hadn’t been much of a transition for them to heed my command.
They’d done it long before I had this officer’s insignia on my collar.
“Eyes on the horizon,” I told him. “Anything alive moves in that field that shouldn’t, shoot on sight.”
“Roger that, LT.” Sgt. Lutten fell back to position and relayed the order down the line of troops guarding the wall.
The metal stairs clanged under my feet as I hurried down to the street level.
We were ready, and moving fast, but I’d told them this was a bad idea.
Operations like this took time to prepare.
Too bad the colonel was an ass-kissing boot-licker who wanted another star.
He—and the rest of the military leadership—said “How high?” whenever the council told them to jump.
My job was to keep things moving smoothly, and handle any issues that arrived swiftly, by whatever means necessary. For the sake of my men, I prayed to science that whatever means never came to pass.
History showed what had happened the last time wolf shifters felt slighted by the city of Ethica. I hoped not to repeat the mistakes of my forefathers.
In the parking lot, the tanks were lined up facing the fenced entrance of the research center. This area had been cleared of civilian personnel for the meeting. The lecture hall on the first floor hadn’t seen much use in recent years, but it served as a good location for today’s event.
The first of the black armored cars drove onto the parking lot as I pulled the radio back to my lips.
“Someone please tell me they have eyes on Rabbit.” I released the speaker button.
“Cover for me, bro,” came through my earpiece.
I’m going to kill him. I tightened the grip on the radio. “Brass is landing.”
“Roger that, LT.” One of my men gave the signal that they were watching from above.
“Rabbit,” I called into the speaker once more. “If you don’t fuc—”
I dropped the hand holding the radio and raised my arm in a smart salute as Colonel Williams stepped out of the vehicle, followed by Councilwoman Troy.
Whereas the colonel’s belly stretched the seams of his uniform, and his greasy mustache curved the width of his round mouth—pushing regulations—Helen Troy was all sharp angles, tall and slim with a harshly trimmed bob I’d never seen grow past her shoulders.
But there was a reserved motherly warmth when she smiled at me while Colonel Williams returned my salute.
“Give me a second, George.” Councilwoman Troy patted his arm.
Colonel Williams mumbled something in my direction as he kept walking.
The councilwoman hung back, waiting until the superior officer was out of earshot.
“Is he here yet?” she whispered.
I hated that worried look and the tightness of her lips. My military bearing dropped a bit as I leaned in closer. “You know Justus. But I’ll check if anyone’s seen him again.” I raised the radio.
She placed a hand on my forearm. “Don’t bother. I had a feeling this would happen. You’re not busy, are you?”
It wasn’t as if I could deny her. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. I was going to kill Justus for letting her down yet again.
Colonel Williams gave me a sideways glance as I escorted the councilwoman up the steps. Later, there’d be hell to pay. I knew by the twitch of the colonel’s mustache.
But the councilwoman outranked even the colonel.
All the council and board members did. They were the rule makers.
The directors of our city. Government officials who controlled the way things worked.
The military wasn’t needed much, especially in these times of peace, but we came when called by them.
Councilwoman Troy was the media director and served as ambassador of relations outside of our city, handling communications with other human purists’ cities, and lately taking more of a role in exchanges with the wolf shifters.
But she’d earned my respect long before I knew what her political role entailed.
The other government vehicles were arriving now, and security came to meet them. We bypassed the scanners and headed down the side hall that would lead to the raised platform of the auditorium.
Her heeled shoes clicked along the floors beside me. “Don’t worry about what you hear in there today,” she said.
I nodded, knowing I wouldn’t. But if it made her feel better to warn me of that, I wouldn’t stop her.
“The whole thing is absolutely preposterous,” she continued. “But you’ll sit next to me, and we’ll sort it all out.”
Again, I nodded and held open the door.
My gaze swept the empty room, making note of the exit on the other side that we’d secured this morning and checking for any details seemingly out of place.
“You look handsome in this uniform, by the way.” She adjusted my collar device and smoothed her hand over the lapel, drawing my attention back to her. Pure pride shone in her eyes as she grinned up at me. “Are you settling in okay? How are they feeding you?”
The tenderness with which she spoke made me cringe internally, but I knew she only meant well. “It’s been an adjustment, but I’m figuring it out.”
“You belong with the officers.” She patted my shoulder. “And… how is your father?”
The question caught me off guard. “He’s fine.”
“Have you been to see him lately?” she asked. The hint of sadness in her tone wasn’t rehearsed. It’d been many years since my father lived in her house, but there was still a history there.
“He’s doing good,” I said, keeping my answers short. “No change.”
She seemed to pick up on my discomfort. “All right. Well, you just sit next to me and look pretty. I’ll handle the rest.”
The wink she threw my way was supposed to be playful, but I knew better than to disobey a direct order, even if it didn’t seem like one.
“Yes ma’am.” I nodded a final time, leading the councilwoman to her seat.
My earpiece buzzed with the official update from outside the building. “Stand ready. The mutants are here.”