Night and Day (Book 2): Bleeding Sky (24 page)

I
was silent for a moment, then said, “Nothing secret about it. I’m an old
school guy in a new school world. What Stein did was wrong. Very wrong. And
believe me, if you’d died or suffered serious injury, they all would have
faced Miss Takeda’s sword. If I could keep from shooting them myself.” I
paused. “But you didn’t. In truth, I was probably a little too harsh with
the troopers this morning. Some of them probably won’t make it out of the
stockade alive. But I was angry. And I needed to make a point to the rest of
the company.”

She
nodded. “I understand.”

“Stein?
I had to punish him extra hard. He gave the order, even if it was just a
suggestion. His troopers did what he expected of them. But it wasn’t worth
sentencing him to death.”

“Thank
you, sir. And I agree with your decision.”

“I
don’t care if you agree or not, but it’s nice to know I have your approval,”
I said with a humorless smile. “So your dad was a lieutenant colonel. What
were you when you went into the internment camp in Nashville?”

“Second
lieutenant, sir. ROTC in college, then regular army.”

I
stared at her. “Why didn’t you rejoin the army after you were released from
the camp?”

“Wasn’t
given the opportunity,” she said. “They saw my military record and offered
me the Security Force.”

“As
a trooper? Didn’t they at least offer you sergeant’s stripes as a former
regular army officer?”

“Yes,
sir,” she said. “I declined.”

“Why?”

“Personal
reasons, sir.”

I
was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Fine with me,” I said. “I learned a
long time ago to never force a woman to answer a question. Unless she’s a
suspect.” I checked my watch. “Let’s not keep them waiting for their
briefing.”

Bristow
handled most of it. He had Heymann’s itinerary and I’d already given him my
initial thoughts on deployment. There were plenty of unhappy faces about the
situation, but not a lot of discussion. It was what it was. We couldn’t
change Heymann’s plans. We could only do our best to keep him
breathing.

When
Bristow finished, I stood. “I’m not any happier about this than any of you,”
I said. “But the ambassador will not be talked out of this. So we’ll do what
we need to and keep the man alive while he’s with us.”

I
looked at Jimmy. “Captain Mutz, were you able to get the extra police
personnel you requested?”

He
nodded. “I have twenty additional men coming.” He paused. “Include eight who
were part of the Dignitary Protection Unit pre-war.”

“Finally
some good news. Okay, I want at least half of the experienced men close to
Dr. Heymann any time he’s outside the perimeter. The other half in a
secondary perimeter around him. He’s not going to want Security Force
troopers in his face while he’s out pressing the flesh, so we’ll keep them
even further back. When he leaves the square, I’ll stay with the protection
cops on the secondary perimeter.”

Martinez
cleared her throat. “Sir, a word?”

I
looked at the men around the table. “Excuse me for a minute, gentlemen.” I
stood and Martinez followed me into the office. I closed the
door.

“Trooper?”

She
licked her lips and took a deep breath. “Sir, as much as I know you’d like
to be out there with eyes on the ambassador, your place is here.”

“Why’s
that?”

“It’s
a commander’s job to command. To see the big picture, to have all the facts,
make decisions and give orders based on the overall situation. Not to hold a
gun and fight next to the grunts.”

“I
disagree.”

“How
so, sir?”

I
frowned. “Excuse me?”

“Why
do you disagree, sir?”

I
didn’t reply for a moment, then said, “I may be getting paid by the Area
Governor’s Office, but Dr. Heymann is my principal. His safety was entrusted
to me by General Bain. And you can’t be an effective bodyguard five blocks
away from the man you’re supposed to be protecting.”

“You’re
not a bodyguard, sir. You’re the commander of a Security Force company.
Protecting the ambassador is our job. Your job is to make the plans and give
the orders that let us most effectively do that job.”

She
was right. I was looking at things like a private investigator or a cop on
the street. I’d never been in a position in the rear, telling other people
what to do. It didn’t come naturally to me, and I wasn’t entirely
comfortable with it. And though I’m pretty arrogant at times, I wasn’t so
arrogant that I thought the pistol on my belt would be the difference
between Heymann living and dying.

“So
what do you suggest, trooper?”

You
stay here in the command center,” she said. “We have full communications
capability with every unit in the field, including the police units. You’ll
know more about the overall situation than you ever would if you went out
with them.”

I
sighed. “Something else from your father?”

“ROTC,
sir,” she said. “They taught us that leading from the front went out after
the Civil War for commands larger than a platoon.”

“You
may get those bars sooner than you expected, trooper,” I said, standing. She
followed me back into the conference room.

“Change
of plans,” I said as I sat down. “My aide has reminded me that I should be
here rather than in the field.”

Jimmy
grinned and the rest of them just stared at me like I was an idiot for
thinking different.

“I’ll
be in a command vehicle shadowing the ambassador,” Bristow said. “We’ll stay
half a block back and keep an eye on the overall environment.” He looked at
me. “I’ll keep you informed, sir.”

“I
don’t doubt it,” I said. “Okay, if there’s nothing else, we’ve got about an
hour until Heymann’s visitors start lining up. I’ll be here...” I looked at
Martinez. “Commanding...” I looked back at the others. “...if anything comes
up.”

“Dismissed,”
Bristow said. Everyone but Jimmy stood and filed out of the conference room.
Jimmy moved down the table and sat down next to me.

“What?”
I asked.

He
smiled and glanced at Martinez. “You sometimes need somebody to point you in
the right direction, Charlie,” he said. “I had that often difficult job when
you started on the police department and it looks like the torch has been
passed to Trooper Martinez.”

“It
might be the right direction, but I don’t have to like it.”

“You’ll
get used to it,” he said. “Took me a while, but I finally did. Still miss
being on the street sometimes. But I can’t do the job they pay me for by
riding around in a patrol car or walking a beat.”

“So
where are you gonna be, sarge?”

He
laughed. “Having a dog at Eddie’s,” he said. “If you’re lucky, I might even
send one over to you.”

I
sat at my desk, watching the people line up to see Heymann. There were ten
or fifteen of them. Mostly men, a few women. Most of them older. I don’t
know how they knew it was visiting hours. Maybe Clay had distributed flyers
while I wasn’t looking.

Speaking
of Clay, he was at the final checkpoint on the path with three Security
Force troopers. Every five or ten minutes, he’d go into the trailer, bring
out the previous guests, then take the next individual or party
inside.

Martinez
was on the other side of the command trailer, monitoring communications. If
anybody needed me, she’d let me know.

I’d
just finished the hot dog that Jimmy had sent over with one of his officers
when Martinez stuck her head into the office. “Sir, Captain Mutz needs to
speak to you.”

I
followed her to the other side of the trailer. A trooper at a communications
console pointed to the headset on the neighboring console. “Got you set up
for voice activation, sir,” she said.

“Thanks,”
I said, sliding into the chair in front of the console. I put on the
headset. “Welles.”

“Mutz.”
Jimmy’s voice was as clear as if he was sitting beside me. “Got somebody
here who wants to see the ambassador. You’re not gonna believe who it
is.”

I
sighed. “Jimmy, I’m fighting blowback from that hot dog you sent over, so
cut to the chase.”

“Eddie
Gabriel,” he said.

“You’ve
got to be kidding me.”

“Nope,”
Jimmy said. “Showed up about five minutes ago. In a wheelchair, if you can
believe that.”

“They
chop off his feet?”

Jimmy
laughed. “Nah, looks like they’re still there for now.”

Back
before the war, Gabriel had been successful in the con game until he conned
the wrong woman. She was the mother of a local mobster, her son was not
amused, and his crew crushed both of Eddie’s feet with a sledgehammer. His
feet had healed up okay, but when you’re carrying four hundred pounds of
weight on busted feet, okay isn’t good enough.

“What
does he want?”

“I
told you, to see the ambassador.”

“Why?”

“I
don’t know,” Jimmy said. “Maybe he wants to set him up with some sweet
lovin’ tonight.” He laughed.

“Who’s
with him? Johnny Three-Legs?”

Jimmy
laughed again. “Nah, Johnny is too low-rent for this kind of soiree. He’s
got a big guy, looks like a weight lifter in a tight suit. Broad shoulders,
narrow hips.”

“His
name’s Angelo,” I said. “Eddie’s bodyguard.” I paused. “He’s probably packing,
so you might want to relieve him of his piece.”

“Already
done,” Jimmy said. “So what do you want me to do with Gabriel? Send him on
his way?”

“No,
have him come see me. I want to know why he’s here. Have one of your
officers push the wheelchair if he can’t walk it. I don’t need to see his
goon.”

“He’ll
be there in five,” Jimmy said.

I
pulled off the headset and stood. “Somebody is going to be showing up at the
steps in a few minutes,” I said to Martinez. “In a wheelchair. His name is
Eddie Gabriel. When he gets here, bring him back to my office.”

“How
do we get the wheelchair inside. Carry him up and bring it in?”

“Eddie’s
about four hundred pounds of dead weight,” I said. “He can walk. Just don’t
take any shit from him. Tell him if he wants to see the ambassador, he’ll
get his fat ass up the steps.”

“Yes,
sir,” she said with a smile.

I
went back to my office and sat. The window next to the desk gave me a good
view. On the other side of First, at the security checkpoint, I saw a police
officer push a wheelchair through the opening in the chicken wire and start
across the street.

It
was Eddie Gabriel all right. Bigger than life. He was wearing a hat, a
fedora of some kind, to shield his bald head from the sun. But what
surprised me was that he’d actually gotten dressed up, in a dark blue suit.
I think it was the first time I’d seen him in a suit since his con-man days,
and that was two hundred pounds ago.

Martinez
met him at the foot of the steps, and said something to him as she gestured
at the stairs. He shook his head. She said something else. He pointed at his
feet. She shook her head and pointed at the stairs again.

I
could see he was arguing. I didn’t need to hear it to know what he was
saying. His feet. The pain. His weight. His legs.

Then
Martinez shrugged and turned, about to start up the steps. Gabriel said
something, shook his head, and rose from the chair. He swayed a little, but
he didn’t fall.

Martinez
looked back at him and went up the stairs, out of sight. He was still
mouthing words as he took small steps to the stairs, paused, then grabbed
the railing and started half-climbing and half-pulling himself
up.

I
leaned back in the chair and waited. The trailer door opened and I heard
Martinez say, “This way, sir.”

Then
I heard Gabriel. “This is pretty nice,” he said. “When the ambassador
leaves, I’ll be glad to take the trailer off your hands. I pay top
dollar.”

“You’ll
have to ask General Bain about that,” Martinez said without skipping a beat.
“If you’ll follow me.”

“You
got good air conditioning in here, too. If you don’t want to sell the whole
trailer, I can get you some nice money for the air conditioning
unit.”

Martinez
came through my door, turned, and said, “In here, sir.” As she looked back
to me, she grinned and went to her desk.

“I’m
coming,” Gabriel said. “With my feet, it’s a miracle I can even walk, you
know?”

He
lumbered into the room, his eyes on Martinez. Then he turned to face whoever
he had to talk to in order to see Heymann. Me.

“Oh,
you got to be kidding,” he said.

“That’s
funny, Eddie,” I said, pointing at a chair. “I said the same thing not five
minutes ago.”

Chapter
Fifteen