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They stopped at the guardhouse where a startled looking soldier stared at them, then just waved them through. They returned to the building with the auditorium. The Colonel, the General, Hugh, and the lab coats were waiting for them. Corporal Dane handed the camera back to the technician, who accepted it excitedly. He immediately reviewed the recording and made excited sounds to his colleagues.
The General was trying to school his expression but wasn’t too successful.
“How… how are you feeling, son?” he asked softly from his tight throat.
The big marine saluted him with a wide smile. “I feel really good, sir! So much better than I was after the explosion and maybe better than my best day.”
Hugh’s expression was satisfied. “I know a lot of other soldiers who might appreciate the same chance.”
Mick stepped forward. “Sir, what we saw today was just short of a miracle. His body rejected the conversion, and we almost lost him. The injury he sustained created a break in the flow, and he almost bled out his life energy. If it hadn’t been for Yablonski’s quick thinking and the strike zone being so close by, we would have lost him. We don’t know if this will work for everyone, but I wouldn’t want to do it too far from the strike zone. I wouldn’t want to do it very often at all as the strike zone’s energy is too raw.”
The technician turned a tablet’s screen towards the Sergeant. “Was this pose intentional?”
Mick looked at the man then at the screen, which was showing her team propping the marine up while she held his feet against the super-charged ground.
Christopher surprised them all with his delighted laughter. “That’s hilarious! It looks just like that shot of the marines planting the flag at Iwo Jima!” he gasped, and the other soldiers began to laugh as well.
Crane watched Baines, who was staring at their newest silver person with a small smile and glassy eyes. It must have been some time since he’d last heard the young man laugh.
“How’s your energy level, Mick?” the Colonel asked.
“Fully topped up, now.” She looked at her people who’d been in contact with the marine. They all nodded and smiled. “The others will need to recharge. They can’t touch the surface of the strike zone but getting close to it should be enough. It wouldn’t take long. Permission to send the rest of the team to breakfast, sir.”
Gordon glanced at the General and Hugh and just got nods from the two men.
“Permission to accompany them, sir,” the Gunnery Sergeant asked the General, who nodded.
The Colonel smiled at the marine whose uniform was already showing signs of distress. He looked at Mick. “Take the team back and while they’re charging, see if the original four are still in the neighborhood,” he said.
“Yes, sir!” she said crisply and saluted. He returned it then she gestured for the group to fall out. The Silver Soldiers were quickly out the door.
“Is it wise to be letting the public see them?” Baines asked with a thoughtful expression.
“What kind of impression will it make to demonstrate the US army has Silver People on their team?” Crane returned with a small smile.
The General gave him a little nod as that thought sunk in.
When Gordon looked over at Hugh, the man was giving him another of his intensely evaluating stares. Finally, he spoke.
“You’re not like Devlin after all, but I believe that actually works in our favor.”
A chill ran down Crane’s back. What the fuck was it with this guy that set his nerves off so badly?
-=-
Carl de Bellisle frowned at the news report. The shit truly was hitting the fan out there, but he wasn’t going to postpone his expansion plan again. Not when everything was finally falling into place. His empire was within his grasp.
He closed the web browser on his computer and switched his attention to the report he’d received from his spy, and another frown surfaced. He’d tasked them to get more information on Roy Duncan’s son, but the answers he got back weren’t as satisfying as he’d hoped. The handsome young man wasn’t Roy’s flesh and blood, after all. Getting true justice for his dead son was not to be. A tremor of rage ran through his body.
He took a steadying breath and reread the report. Henry Gable was the company’s CIO though he looked far too young for the role. Something about that triggered a recollection. Something said by the idiots who killed his spy on Roy’s team. Before they killed Billy, he’d told them how Roy supposedly had become an Uber-Were. Billy said it was the blood of the injured young man. The same man the idiots visited the following day in the VRL executive’s home to collect his blood. They’d claimed he was a goat-man, a Satyr.This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
Carl leaned back in his chair. So, Roy had no son of his own, but this young man was important to him. That still made Mr. Gable an excellent hostage. His blood might also be the key to Roy’s ascension. It seemed likely that bitch Camila drew her improved abilities from the same source.
Determined to move forward, he formulated a plan to extract this young man from VRL’s tender care. Carl would either have what he needed to ascend to the same level as Roy, or he’d have leverage against him to finally bend the stubborn bastard to his will.
A smile finally arrived on his face, but it was cold.