The day passed into the night, the reds and oranges covering the sky like paint on a canvas. The glass of water Daniella held in her hand was a far cry from the chilled white wine she craved, along with the scents and tranquility of her home.
Given the way the children had destroyed the hospital, Daniella seriously doubted there’d be much left of her house, and a tug of sadness weighed her down.
“So much lost already, and this war has barely begun.” The words flittered away on the breeze as she looked out over the base.
The plastic chair bit into the skin of her thighs, and Daniella shifted as the door to the accommodation unit swung open with a squeak. Unable to help herself, she spun to see Jonah wander out of their room.
“I wanted to see if you’d like a cup of tea.”
He’d walked wide circles around her since this morning after the debriefing and session with LV-1.
“I’d prefer a cold, white chardonnay or similar.”
He grinned. “None here. I could maybe head over to the Officer’s Club and see what they have on hand…”
Daniella shook her head. “While it would be nice, I guess I need to get my head cleared and in the game. I’m just trying to come to terms with what I’ve seen and heard in the last forty-eight hours.”
He advanced. “Mind if I sit with you?”
Daniella waved her hand. “Please.” They needed to clear the air and find some kind of balance if they could hope for any sort of long-term relationship, and she couldn’t help the tiny shimmer of hope that what lay between them might have some permanence attached.
“Thanks.” He hunkered down onto the step and settled beside the chair, staring out over the carpark below. Empty now as the members of the unit had retired to eat in the mess. “I know this morning was difficult.”
She shrugged. “I understood, you know, after we talked. I can’t afford the luxury of feeling hurt or…” No word came to mind to describe the emotions she’d felt. “I guess I need to harden up if I’m going to assume the mantle of authority. It’s just Yin never involved me in that stuff. He always said there was time. Now he’s gone, and I have to step up. It’s a huge thing, Jonah. It frightens me. So much responsibility, and what if I mess it up?”
“Then you admit it, and we move on. There aren’t a lot of options now. They’re relying on you. On us, senator.” He turned and captured her gaze.
She laughed, even though she felt amazed at the ability to deal with what he said with mirth. “Which us, Jonah? Me and the army? Me and the unit? Me and…” She gulped then dove into the question that had played with her thoughts for hours. “Me and you?”
Trepidation and hunger burned inside her, warring for supremacy. She knew they both were dealing with heavy loads. He would be heading up the team in control of hunting down information and dealing with the threat as well as coordinating their army. And she needed to begin cobbling together some semblance of a senate in waiting.
Daniella would become the face of the resistance, find the right people to assume critical positions when this war was over, and when the time to rebuild came they would move into place. And yet…
Jonah slid a soft hand onto her knee, anchoring her and offering support when she most needed it, keeping her grounded. “All of them. But the last one? That’s the one I want to work most. Right now, though, we need to focus on the big picture. But when we finally get through this—”
“If, Jonah. There are no guarantees, as you keep reminding me.” The words tasted sour in her mouth, but shying away from reality wouldn’t help anyone survive.
He cocked his head. “That’s true, but we also need to do more than just hope. We need to keep our nerve, to believe in what we’re doing, otherwise we’ve let them win before we start.”
She sighed and looked back out over the carpark. “I hope we can defeat them. I feel like they’ve had time to prepare, time to build their defenses, and we’re just playing catch up. Things are grim to my way of thinking.”
He grunted. “Perhaps, but we’ve got the people on our side. During the war, I was always amazed at what everyday people are capable of when called to defend what they hold dear. They’ll come together again because they believe in what they’re doing. It’s just going to take time. We need to present the truth, let the people realize that they’ve been duped. We need time and commitment. Belief. That’s what you bring to the table first off. The rest will fall into place.”
She hoped so. Daniella pushed out of the chair and rose, turning back to give him her full attention as a seed of devilry bloomed.
“We should head inside. The heads of the armed services will be here soon, and we need to be ready to meet with them and begin formulating a plan.” She brushed off her khaki pants and snagged his hand, pulling him closer, and grinning at the small sound of surprise that he gave. “But there’s time for a kiss.”
Swooping in, Daniella pressed her mouth to his, inhaling the musky taste of him—the hot, firm heat of his kiss. Before it could turn wild, she tugged away.
“That should see us through until we retire.” With a small laugh, she skated around him and went inside.
* * * *
The men in full military regalia sat opposite Daniella, taciturn but steady as they unfurled the map. “This, Madam Senator, is the most likely location of their base.”
General Armand DuSaint embodied the spirit of the army. Jonah had served under him during the border skirmishes before DuSaint had taken on the role of Chief of the Army. It seemed surreal that he now found himself a peer or equal to the man before him.
General DuSaint thudded a blunt finger onto a site near the old school. “It’s an abandoned pharmaceuticals lab. We received some intelligence about it in the week leading up to the coup.”
Unease slithered through Jonah’s gut. “What kind of intelligence?”
“Strangely, not the kind I think you’re expecting. It caught our attention due to the number of children in the carpark, pitching tents. Initially, we thought some youth organizations had made arrangements until we got the news they were seen up at dawn, forming up and entering the building. One of my men is a long-distance runner. He was scouting out new locations to run and just happened upon it. He raised the concern, and I sent a couple of operatives out to take a look. Yin had privately contacted me with details of your team, senator, and their task.”
Daniella peered over the map. “You’re sure?”
He grunted and shrugged. “Nothing in war is sure, senator. But we need to look closer at the location, see what’s there and what opportunities might come for taking down their base.”
“General, if I may? Senator?” The grizzled man in the corner, Admiral Daffyd Clwyn, stood and pored over the map. “While there is a case for bolstering the army’s defenses, I feel that it should be recognized that the docks are also at risk. In consultation with Fleet Admiral Constantine, we’ll move all vessels into deeper water. The naval bases are well-fortified, but we believe further urgent fortification is wise.”
Daniella bit her lip as she gazed at the naval officer. “I’m not sure we have the resources. Jonah? What are your thoughts?”
He scratched his head, uncomfortable with this level of responsibility. It had never been his intention to be setting the direction of government and offering military advice.
“With all due respect, senator, I hardly think McDowell is in the position to—”
“General, while you might be the most senior officer in the army, Jonah is the one with the most knowledge on the subject of the warrior children. His people have been the ones who collected the intelligence that saved my life and many others. His team followed through on the activities of this threat. They worked out the children were behind the bombing of the hospital, and he now heads my task force, dealing with the investigation of the plot against the government. That is why I trust his expertise and knowledge.” Red flags brightened her cheeks, and her eyes sparkled as she made her reason clear to the men in the room.
Embarrassment washed through him like a burning hot wave. “Uh, senator, I agree with the admiral. We should also actively take steps to secure our other military bases. I’m not so sure it’s beyond the realm of possibility that they’ve trained these children to run the ships and planes and cause us greater issues.” He shrugged, then turned back to the general. “I think that, at this stage, we need more information before we can assemble strike forces. We don’t know how many bases or children there are. While Colvert was undoubtedly using the in vitro clinic as a front, we don’t know that there weren’t more. It’s one of the many aspects I want to investigate, but we’re spread too thinly at this point, in terms of manpower.”
The general harrumphed at his answer, and the admiral peered again at the map. “If we take the force out into deep water and form a flotilla, it would make it hard for anyone to ambush us and take our ships. We can keep a single force at the main base, and that’s the one we reinforce.” He tapped the port at Weir Point. “It’s next to the Air Force and Space Base. We pool resources. Move our land-based people there.”
Daniella chewed her lip. “How many can you call up to help reinforce the base, Admiral?”
“If I move the ships to full complement, I can spare three thousand or thereabouts for the base. Then we take down the fencing between the other bases. Erect another corridor or two for access. Mine the surrounding areas, so we only have minimal incursion points.”
Land mines. Antiquated yet still effective barriers. Jonah knew Daniella wouldn’t be comfortable with that, but it made sense to protect the base and those within it. Increase the defensibility meant they’d get more returning soldiers. It increased the chances of survival of their people, including the civilians who now called this place home. However, it brought with it other unintended side issues—how to house and feed so many soldiers and their families. He’d work on that issue later though.
“We add to that, set up a further perimeter. Surface-to-air armaments and machine artillery within the base proper and increase the watch. It’s doable, but it will require extensive scheduling and organization.” Jonah swiped a hand over his forehead as he gazed at the map.
Daniella tottered to the chair, her gaze on the table. “I wish it hadn’t come to this. Get it in place as quickly as you can. I want an update in the morning, gentleman. I want to be assured our people will have the best chance to strike when the opportunity arises.”
The general and admiral both read the dismissal in her words and saluted then left the room.
She sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Jonah. I mean, our position is weak without the intelligence. We need to defend the most strategic locations and ensure we have the resources, food, and medical access, but how the hell do we do that when we’re boxing at shadows? We need more information. We need it quickly.”
He nodded his agreement. Right now, things looked increasingly grim.
* * * *
Daniella lay in the dark, mulling over the consequences of the decisions she’d made. Jonah lay on his side, asleep, and for a moment she wondered how that could be.
Her nerves were taut, stretched like an elastic band about to snap. She could call it all off. Surrender herself, but that wasn’t a choice. Too many had already returned, families swarming through the gates.
The men who’d taken on the role of gate security had increased the checks, ensuring only those who were supposed to be there were granted access. Professor Venos would arrive tomorrow with a small group of handpicked medical staff who’d survived the explosion at the hospital, and their families. Michael, Clarissa, and their captives had already transferred in, with the secured accommodation under immense scrutiny.
All these lives in her hands. “How do I do it, Yin? How do I live up to the responsibilities? Make sure my decisions are the best ones for everyone?”
No answer was forthcoming. She hadn’t expected one.
The dim glow of the clock above the foot of the bed showed two AM. With a sigh, she snuggled down in the bed, determined to get some rest. Tomorrow would be another busy day.
It took a long time to descend into sleep.