"Shut up," the guardsman ordered. "Go stand over there, both of you. I don't know who you are, and I'm not buying some crazy story that you got let in here earlier. Don't you people know what's been going on around here?"
Dar just walked past him, catching Kerry's arm as she went and gently hauling her along with her. She stopped where the techs were, all of them visibly relaxing. "You our fiber boys?"
"Yes, ma'am," the talkative one said. "I'm Shaun Durhan, this is Mike Thomas, and Kannan Barishmorthy."
Dar had her hands in her pockets, and was regarding them mildly."Dar Roberts," she finally said, then glanced to her left. "Kerry Stuart.
The men all blushed a little. "Yeah, we knew that," Shaun said. "Glad you came out here. They were really starting to hassle us, especially Kannan."
Dar glanced at the third man, her brows contracting. "Kannan?"
She knew the name, vaguely. Mark had spoken well of him, she remembered, one of their H1B Visa candidates she recalled signing off on. "Why?"
"They often joke that some people do not understand geography," Kannan said in a quiet voice. "However I did think most knew the difference between the Middle East and India."
"Don't count on it." Kerry glanced behind her, where the guardsman had now taken her identification and ducked inside his command car with it and his radio. "My mother said they'd been expecting some problems in Michigan with a backlash."
"Expecting?" Kannan eyed her. "Ma'am, there were two men from my home country already killed there, beaten in their shops from people thinking they were Arabs."
Kerry remembered the call earlier, and bit off a curse.
"Well." Dar exhaled. "I'm sure having a bunch of them living in Miami without being detected didn't help anything." She looked around. "It would be like one of them living here. How could you tell? Half the cabbies in the damn city come from that part of the world."
"Well there--what are you folks all doing out here?" Alastair shifted the bag in his arms. "Waiting for us?"
Andrew was right behind him with his box, glancing alertly around at the guard, the command car, and the small group waiting outside the gates."We got trouble now?" He came up next to Dar and cocked his head in question. "How're you feeling, Dardar?"
"Frustrated." Dar craned her head around to look at the command car. "You can give those things to these guys. It's their gear." She indicated the techs. "You three might want to fish through there and make sure we got everything."
The techs took possession of the bundles and knelt next to them on the ground, opening up the bag and peering inside it. "Kannan, this is your stuff." Shaun handed it over. "Let me get the box open."
"Ah, yes. Thank you so much." Kannan sat down on the ground and removed his pack, swinging it around and setting it down next to his leg.
"Hey! What are you people doing?" The guard commander circled his truck and approached them. "What's going on here? Who are you two?" He pointed at Kannan. "Get those things away from that guy--he's one of them!"
"One of them what?" Kerry turned in confusion. "He's our fiber tech. What's wrong with--"
"Shut up. You're probably in it with him. All of you, a bunch of t--"
Kerry got in front of him. "They're also part of our company. Look, can't we just call the command that was here earlier?" She held up both hands, then realized he wasn't going to stop and couldn't get out of the way in time before she was shoved hard to one side. "Hey!"
"Get out of my way. You men, over here. Bring that--" The guard commander hauled up short as Dar suddenly surged into rapid motion, coming right up into his face with her hands raising up into fists. "What the hell do you--hey!"
Dar had him by the front of his shirt. "You stupid little piece of shit!" She yelled at top volume. "What in the hell do you think you're doing pushing around the people who pay your fucking salary?"
"Oh boy." Alastair moved nervously forward. "This is going to end badly, I can tell."
The guard reeled backwards, then reached for the gun hanging off his back and started pulling it around only to find himself lifted up off his feet and shoved through the air back against his truck as his rifle was taken from his hands in a single, smooth motion. "Why you--"
"Hold UP!" Andrew barked, taking the safety off the gun and cocking it. "Paladar, you get back."
Dar took a single step back, her hands at her sides, fingers twitching.
The other soldiers belatedly started forward, only to halt when Andrew slowly moved his head in their direction.
"Put them damn things down," Andrew ordered. "And you still yourself, mister." He addressed the guard commander. "'Fore I shoot you in the nuts and save us all the trouble of you spreading out them know-nothing genes."
The other guardsmen hesitated, then put their rifles down on the ground and stepped back.
Kerry eased forward, and got her hand around Dar's arm. "Hey." She rubbed her thumb against her partner's heated skin. "I'm okay. He's just an idiot."
The guard commander at least had the sense to stay where he was, sitting on the ground with his back against his truck. "You're all ending up in jail," he said. "You better put that gun down, buddy. This is no game."
"No, it ain't," Andrew agreed. "Most times when I been holding one of these here things, it weren't no game and not so much as when you can't tell who you got on the other end, a friendly or a target." He stared, unblinking, at the man's face. "Like now."
The guard captain went very still, only his breathing evident in the rise and fall of his shirt.
"Now," Andrew said. "These here people are here to do something for the gov'mint. You are going to get on that there radio and get your CO over here, so you can 'splain why you ain't letting them do what they need to do. Right now."
"Okay." The guard captain held his hands out. "I'm just trying to do my job."
"No you ain't. That feller there today was doing his job. You just ain't got no sense, and don't want to listen to nobody," Andrew disagreed. "So get yourself up and get on that comm, 'fore I do it and get them collar bugs turned to half stripes for you."
The guard got up and reached in the open window. Andrew shifted the rifle audibly and he paused, then slowly pulled his hand out with the radio mouthpiece in it. "Can I ask who you are?"
"No you may not," Andrew told him. "But ah will tell you that if ah don't know someone who will bust you, ah know someone who knows someone. Just get on that thing and get someone with a brain ovah here."
The man hesitated.
"And if you all don't believe that, ah'll just let mah little girl here beat the tar out of you and take pitchers," Andrew continued mildly with a straight face.
The guard captain keyed the mic. 'HQ, HQ--this is Hudson Midtown. Over."
"Thought that might do it." Andrew turned his head slightly. "You kids want to get on back in case someone does something jackass here?"
"No," Dar replied.
Kerry shook her head in agreement, half turning as Alastair eased up next to them. "We're all jackasses, right?"
"Without question," Alastair agreed. "I've never been a jackass, in fact. But you know, the Commander is right. Let's get back a little."
Both Kerry and Dar just looked at him.
"No, huh?"
Dar finally relaxed, her shoulders easing and her hands uncurling. "Let's see if we've got everything." She gave in, and stepped back from the half ring of uncertain guardsman, and her father's threatening, brace legged form.
The techs were all crouched near the ground, eyes wide. "Wow,"Shaun muttered, as they joined the three of them. "This is getting crazy."
"Getting?" Kannan looked upset, and tense. "Never have I felt so scared, you know? Intimidated by my own nationality being in question. It is terrible. I feel like I am walking target for people to think badly of."