That I agree with.
“So why are you arguing with me?”
I am not. Just reminding you that you disobeyed a direct order and Hubert died for it. He was her favorite nephew after all.
Roen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and counted down from fourteen. He opened them and looked straight at the Keeper. He could tell from his peripheral vision that the guards were a little trigger-happy. “Look, I’m here to help. I owe Dylan more times than I can count. If you want me on board, my gun is yours. If not, you can try to arrest me.”
Jill just rolled her eyes while Stephen tried to defuse the situation. “Put the guns down,” he snapped at the guards. He turned to the Keeper and Roen. “Meredith, now is not the time. Roen, grow up. We have bigger issues at stake here. Hundreds of our people’s lives are forfeit unless we act. If you’re with us, obey orders like everyone else. If not, you know where the door is. Understood?”
Roen nodded.
“Good.” Stephen looked down at the map. “The parts are already moving. The bulk of our forces will enter Tibet via commercial transport over the course of a week. Our infrastructure in Nepal fortunately remains intact and will supply us from across the border. That entire region hasn’t seen much action from either side in over forty years or the Genjix probably wouldn’t have built the internment camp there.
“What’s our troop count?” Roen asked.
“Stripping available personnel without crippling world operations, a shade under two thousand,” Stephen answered. “This will be largest direct operation we’ve had since World War II. Advance scouts already on the ground estimate nearly fourteen to twenty-two hundred prisoners. With the Atlantis added to those numbers, that’s far too many Prophus to leave in Genjix hands.
“I’ll need to clear time off with Wilks,” Jill said.
“You’re not going,” the Keeper said. “Through attrition, you’re moving up the food chain here at the capital. Adam’s dropped the ball around here. In the past six months, we’ve lost nineteen political operatives. You have an important job on the Hill and I want you to focus on our initiatives there. No more off-the-program work for you. I’m assigning an agent to your protective detail as well. This city’s gotten too dangerous, and we can’t afford to lose any more, especially a key legislative operative such as yourself.”
“You’re taking me off the line?” she gasped.
“More like we’re narrowing your focus. As much as I hate to say it,” the Keeper sniffed toward Roen’s direction, “he might have been on to something. The Genjix have been applying pressure in Congress to loosen trade resolutions with China. There are a few bills in particular that seem to be part of a larger initiative. Until we find out exactly what they’re after, we need you to shut them down.”
Stephen looked at Roen. “That’s where you come in. Dylan was following leads from your intel in China and it pointed him to the island of Taiwan. The Atlantis was taking him there when it was attacked. Last communication we got from Abrams was that he got away in an escape pod. We don’t know if he made it or not. I want you to pick up where he left off, find what he’s looking for and, if possible, bring him safely back as well.”
“Who’s going to protect Jill then?” Roen asked.
“Aw, I didn’t know you still cared, Roen,” Jill said. “Now, if you only cared enough to not leave me and our child…”
“Can we not do this in front of our friends and alien colleagues?” he said.
Stephen wagged his finger at both Jill and Roen. “And that’s why it’s a standing policy to not let agents in a relationship, or whatever you two are right now, work together. People get emotional. People get killed. The Keeper has it covered.”
“Covered like last night?” Roen spat. “Forget it. She’d be on her way to that camp right now if it weren’t for me.”
“I know about last night’s fiasco. As far as I’m concerned, the only operation Adams is managing from now on is the annual Christmas party,” the Keeper said dryly. “I’m taking him off operations in Washington and transferring him to the Midwest.” She pointed at the map. “Trust me when I say Jill is an important asset. We are slowly losing the United States. We’re bringing someone with a proven track record to stem the tide of Genjix influence in the States, and we’re going to need Jill. We need someone she can depend on to protect her.”
“I’m sure the Keeper has an able agent assigned,” Stephen added just as Roen opened his mouth to tell the Keeper where she could shove that not-so-subtle jab at him.
“I don’t trust any of these kids you assign to her,” Roen snapped.
“The only one I see acting like a kid here is you,” someone piped up from the door.
All eyes turned to the new voice. Paula smirked and walked in. “I see all the best and brightest are here. Well, the brightest at least. Now that I’m here, the best as well.” She turned to Roen. “Why does it seem like I’m hearing babies prattle on when you’re around, Roen?”
He grinned and shook hands with her. “It’s good to see you again. You too, Yol.”
Stephen nodded when she gave him a casual salute. “Thanks for making the trip on short notice. You’re being reassigned to do here in the capital what you did in London.” He looked up at the rest of the room. “Paula will be directing all DC operations from here on out.”
Paula bowed magnanimously. “Queen, country, and the Redskins.”
“If Paula’s handling operations, who’s taking Jill’s protective detail then?” Roen demanded.
“I’m putting Marco on the job,” the Keeper said with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Marco!” Roen’s voice rose up three octaves. “I hate Marco!”
I hate Ahngr!
“Ooh, Marco. We really are bringing the big guns,” Paula quipped, her smirk getting wider. She turned to Jill. “You’re in for a real treat. Marco’s so dashing with that nose and jawline and debonair ways. And he’s got these…”
There are quite a few Genjix that I like more than Ahngr.
Roen’s face turned red and he felt his entire body tighten. “If you think I’m letting my wife hang out with that egotistical self-centered leech and his…”
“…dreamy eyes. A total charmer, but watch out, he’s such a cad sometimes,” Paula winked at her. “And such a legend at European Command. He makes James Bond look like a pimply virgin. Makes a girl swoon.” She pretended to fan herself.
“I’m in love already,” Jill winked back. “Guess I’m in good hands.”
“Like hell you are!” Roen roared. “I won’t have it!”
“That’s enough!” Stephen snapped at Roen. “This is a military operation, not high school drama club. The decision’s been made. You’re either on board or the door is over there.”
The room was silence as Roen weighed his options. He felt torn between wanting to protect Jill and the promise he just made to Stephen. Jill had a bodyguard now, and even Roen had to admit that Marco was good. Probably better than Roen, but did it have to be Marco? Of all the jerks in the Prophus ranks, and there were a fair amount of them, Marco took the damn cake.
Did I tell you that Ahngr twice sacrificed my host so his could get away? Once in Sumeria and once during World War I.
“I know! How can I trust that asshole with my wife?”
Roen racked his brain for a few more seconds, warring between his protectiveness for Jill and his respect for Stephen. Finally, after he ran out of alternatives, he grudgingly nodded. “Fine. I owe it to Dylan. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead ten times over.”
Stephen nodded. “Alive preferably. In good health if possible but I’ll settle for breathing. I’d love to hunt for Dylan myself but two thousand lives have priority.”