[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
fatigue even occurred. And Rick, like every other frontliner, knew only too well. And
Rick, like many, never forgot. Those men and women were real to him; he could close
his eyes and watch them die, all over again. And it hurt like hell.
Rick had decided he wasn t going to lead a team who forgot their dead, or even
their living. When a Commando went, by any means, they weren t replaced. If that
meant that the team no longer functioned, so be it. But one spot didn t hinder their
operations, unfortunately. They had a gap in the ranks for the entire Divide, and they
operated just fine. Of course, that space hadn t been from a death or dismissal. Rick
hadn t started his roster until midway through the Divide, and he looked for certain
qualities. Like Matt, for his brashness, or Frank for his sound reasoning, or Kathy for her
connection to a scene they d otherwise have been unable to manipulate. Same with
Chelsea and Ishmael. Kelly had taken convincing, after he discovered her. She hadn t
wanted to draw attention to herself, and Carrissa had been adamantly opposed to Kelly s
placing herself back into the war zone again. Walter had approached Rick, asking if they
needed technical assistance. Rick dug up Walter s record, and instated him soon after. A
hacker was a good thing to have. Jen came recommended with a degree in psychological
profiling from IA. Rick was glad to have her there, if only to keep rein on Matt. But
there had been one space left. Rick hadn t known exactly what he was looking for in that
person. A quick mind, maybe, or combat reflexes that would stand good as a
replacement for himself if he should die. He wanted someone with a military record that
was next to spotless, and who would understand exactly why the Commandos operated as
176
they did. Someone who could hold their own, on any level. He went through literally
thousands of military records searching for that person, looking for someone to complete
the team. Most of them had come close, but not close enough. He d added them to a list
of possible recruits, and requested a volunteer. But when he came to Tamia s file, he
knew he d found the one he really wanted for the unit. He was impressed by her record,
and her background had seemed eerily familiar, at the time. It was almost as if he d
already known her. When she submitted her name for the transfer, he d disregarded all
the other names on that list. And then, when he laid eyes on her for the first time, he
knew he was in trouble, because she was the woman he d been dreaming about since Rio
Bantos. They had a rocky start, mainly because he hadn t trusted himself, or her motives.
But now, he couldn t even think of what it would have been like if she hadn t
volunteered.
Rick sighed again. He wished that Frank hadn t decided to call it quits. Frank
had been a close friend of Rick s since day one, and he d shown amazing support for
Tamia. He was definitely going to be missed. Oh, well. No point thinking about it.
Maybe he d get Walter Maddoc to have a go at the DEA; he always seemed to know how
to get people talking.
As for the street punks on the list, hell, that was an easy one. Matt Clipper was a product
of the streets, rescued by Rick from the Cabrini Green district of Chicago in 2113. A
bonafide brutha, with an attitude larger than the state of Texas and an amazing
immunity to interrogation of any kind, Matt knew how to get what he wanted with very
little effort. Rick grinned wryly at that, but his face fell in the next instant, as he
177
remembered another product of the streets who would most decidedly not be going
back out there Tamia. She d grown up on the streets too, and knew the gang and punk
types as well as Matt did. Only, Tamia gave that up for the military, and she didn t have
the connections that Matt still kept. Tamia d been used when she ran with the gangs, and
she didn t like the streets.
Shaking his head to clear it, Rick centered on the mission again. Chelsea would
have to head south again, back to Peru. He d have Walter give her some bugs, maybe,
and keep an ear to the drug trafficker s trade. He wanted Kelly mixing with the bar-
hoppers, finding out what they knew about Charles Horner and Panfild. After a
moment s consideration, he decided he d keep Jen LaSaulle in reserve, as their Comms
monitor. That way, if there were any problems, they d know. That meant, of course, that
the hardest lot would once again fall to the only two people in the unit who could afford
to put their necks on the proverbial chopping block Tamia and himself. They were the
only ones capable of unobserved infiltration at the War Department. Rick and Tamia
could walk freely through the doors, access the Spec Ops computer terminals, and the
military files, without question, until they started opening coded files. Then, they would
have to supply a reason for being there. Once in the system, they couldn t just withdraw
either. Those terminals were monitored. They would have to have the access codes
they only had one try.
Shit. He hadn t thought of that. That meant a break-in to Panfild s office, and another go
at the War Department sealed rooms. There just wasn t any other way. Panfild wasn t
going to store personal acquisitions on an open file. Well, they were both trained in
178
espionage and covert operations procedures. He just had to keep telling himself they d
be okay. Rick frowned suddenly. Everything seemed to be falling into place too easily,
as though someone had already known. What was going to go wrong?
Rick looked up just then, and saw the cheery storefronts that were the
Underground s cover. With a grin at the irony of such festive innocence covering over
that solemn, military world beneath, Rick headed toward the building. Tamia wasn t
going to like what he d found out. But maybe he could soften up his news a little...
179
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The compound halls were empty when Rick stepped off the elevator a short while
later. Only to be expected, he guessed. He saw Carrissa Leads arrive earlier, when he
was leaving the building, which meant Kelly was probably long gone. Matt and Jen were
no doubt out and about no point staying cooped up here when they weren t on
assignment yet, and Matt chafed at confinement, anyway. Rick decided he d check
Tamia s quarters and see if she was in. It wasn t until he started down the hallway that
he heard the unmistakable sounds of combat from the gym. Rick s brow furrowed. The
Arena, he believed, as scenarios could be programmed into the screening systems there to
provide training in weaponry and in hand-to-hand. The sounds of precision-drilled
punches, and the rattle of chains, were coming from the gym, though. He knew that
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]