Vanmarek stood just inside the White Spear's ground floor entrance, gazing out across the Grand Plaza to the South. A hundred members of the security forces stood outside in a neat line with their backs towards him.
'Something's not right,' he said. 'I can feel it.'
Major Young was standing nearby with his hands resting on a stone plinth. 'The only thing I can feel,' he said, 'is this damn cramp in my foot.' He leaned over the plinth and tapped away at the small console that was embedded in its surface.
'Are there any more reports from the city?' Vanmarek said. 'Are the guilds planning any more protests?'
'No,' Young said. 'Nobody's seen any protests or demonstrations. The troops on the ground say there's been a lot of violent incidents, but they seem to be unrelated. There's no real pattern to what's going on out there. Everyone's on edge since Guildmaster Baker got killed, but the violence doesn't appear to be organised.'
Vanmarek nodded. 'Let me know if the situation changes.'
The Air Route opened and Commander Maureen Kendle stepped out into the corridor behind them. She was carrying a rucksack on her back.
'Hi,' she said, walking towards them.
Vanmarek gave her a sidelong glance. 'Kendle, what brings you down here?'
'General Markov asked me to fit some extra blast shield generators to the front entrance, just in case.'
Young exchanged a look with Vanmarek, raising one eyebrow.
'Just in case what?' Vanmarek said.
'We're expecting more trouble,' she said, lowering her rucksack from her back and holding it by the strap with one hand.
'What kind of trouble? General Markov hasn't sent us any new orders.'
'We don't know yet. He said we should keep our eyes open.'
Vanmarek nodded. 'I always do.'
Kendle smiled. 'I'd better get these installed,' she said, opening her rucksack. 'Maybe the General is overreacting, but a few more blast shield generators won't do us any harm.'
'Where is the General?' Vanmarek said. 'I couldn't get him on the comms unit just now.'
'I think Lord Hades took him somewhere. He said he'll be down later.' Kendle's brown hair swirled in the breeze as she stepped out through the front entrance.
Vanmarek watched her through the reinforced glass wall that wrapped around the front of the White Spear. She had a good body. Her uniform fit well. If it hadn't been for his feelings towards Henson, he might have made a move on Kendle by now. Henson would never be interested. He knew that, if he was honest with himself, but he couldn't seem to let go of the hope that one day they might be together. Vanmarek shook his head. He had to concentrate.
Kendle was kneeling down on the other side of the glass, searching inside her rucksack. She pulled out a small black box and attached it to the bottom of the glass near her feet. Once it was in place, she walked a couple paces forwards and did the same again, working her way across the front of the building as she installed the devices.
Vanmarek glanced at the Electrovolt Repeater that was attached to the wall just inside the entrance. 'I hope we don't need to use that today,' he said.
Young grinned back at him. 'I'll be happy to use it. It's been a while since I fried anything bigger than an egg.'
Vanmarek grunted in response. 'You need to work harder on your jokes.'
Young shrugged. 'It's the best I've got.'
When Kendle came back through the entrance, she glanced at them both in turn, her green eyes sparkling under the overhead lights. 'There's something not right out there,' she said. 'The men are restless. I think maybe they can see something on the edge of the Grand Plaza.'
'See what?' Vanmarek said.
'I can't see anything,' Young said, gazing down at his console.
'Someone should talk to them,' Kendle said. 'They look as though they might get restless and start shooting at shadows.'
Vanmarek nodded and walked towards the entrance. 'I'll talk to them,' he said. 'Young, shout out if you need anything. Keep your eyes open.'
Young nodded. 'I'll be fine. It's you that needs to keep your eyes open if you're going out there. There's trouble brewing. I can feel it in my gut.'
Vanmarek frowned and stepped outside.
Kendle stepped over to a row of three Squid droids. They were standing dormant in a passage at the side of the main entrance. She reached into her bag and fitted a blast shield generator at the end of the passage.
'Aren't those better used to keep the enemy out, rather than keeping our own droids in?' Young said.
Kendle glanced back over her shoulder with a smile. 'You'd think so, wouldn't you. General Markov asked me to cover every possible exit.'
'There's no way out through there. It's just where the droids stand so we don't have to walk around them all day long.'
Kendle shrugged. 'I guess there's no harm in being thorough.'