Page 29 of Heartless
“Not for the army,” General Bray corrected. “Not at first. This is just to provide aid to the refugees. And show our neighboring territories that their refugees will get the care they need from us.”
“I don’t like the idea of field hospitals out there in the open,” Dyno piped up. “Who’s to say Blake or Tash won’t give the order to just blow ‘em up?”
“Becausetheywill have the option of using them too,” Bray said. “The medics and their tents won’t have any flags or insignia that show loyalty to Four Corners. It will be there for medical services to anyone who needs it.”
“What’s this gotta do with an attack plan?” Jandro asked. “I get that you’re thinking of growing the army and helping those in need, but what’s the first strike? Is it gonna be us, or are we gonna wait for them?”
“We need to send scouts,” I said. “The best scouts you have, General, that have the lowest probability of getting captured. Tash has had this advantage on us because we’ve been blind. We don’t know his numbers, what kind of artillery he’s packing, nothing. The very first thing we need is information. Then we can plan an attack.”
“I agree with that,” General Bray nodded at me, and damn if my ego wasn’t stroked a little. He was basically my father-in-law, and since my own dad was a colossal piece of shit, that validation from Bray felt good.
“I’m sure you and I can offer some assistance with that, captain.” T-Bone nodded at me from across the table.
I smiled openly. Our birds had become inseparable in recent weeks. Even just Horus would be a huge advantage to the scouts with his eyesight, but with him and the raven Munin working together, we could use even fewer humans on the ground and thus put fewer lives at risk.
“We’ll talk later, sergeant,” I agreed, then swept my gaze between Bray and Vance. “I assume you have topographical maps? Maybe aerial photographs of this region? We’ll need a lay of the land before sending people in.”
Josh and Bray's lieutenant retrieved maps and laid them out on the table. We poured over them for the next two hours, mainly the Four Corners natives explaining the geography to us who were unfamiliar. By the end of the meeting, my brain was thoroughly muddled and I craved a stiff drink. The work wasn't over, though. T-Bone and I would have to discuss where to fly our birds to oversee the scouts. I borrowed a map and told the Sons I'd meet with them back at the bar where they were holed up.
"Hey, thanks for being here. Gunner, is it?" I turned to find Reaper's dad, General Bray, holding his hand out with a friendly smile.
"Yeah. Uh, thanks for having me." I shook his hand. "Sir." I cringed at my awkward delivery, stuck somewhere between familiar and formal.
He was a general, deserving of respect. My school background demanded that I salute him, but no one around here seemed to bother with formalities. In any case, I had never been an enlisted soldier, despite my education. I lived outside the law now, and in that sense, not even a general was above me. And the fact that he was my president's father added another layer of complexity that I wasn't sure how to handle.
The general just continued to smile as he returned the pressure of my handshake before withdrawing his hand. "You bring up important points and I like the way you think. Looking forward to the next meeting, captain."
"Same here, sir. Thank you."
With a curt nod, he filed out of the room, his lieutenant and new recruit stepping out after him. The teenage kid stared at me with big, empty eyes and I narrowed mine in return. Something was off about him. I'd have to remember to check him out through Horus at some point.
"Hey, Gun." Reaper clapped a hand down on my shoulder, the two of us the last ones in the room. "I gotta tell you something, and I don't want you to be upset."
"What?" I sighed. "The Sons are waiting on me."
My president seemed nervous, a rare look for him. "We're having breakfast at my parents' house tomorrow, so they can meet Mari and, you know, get together as a family and shit."
"Cool, I won't hit the booze too hard tonight," I said absently. "Just let me know when we're riding out."
"Um, that's the thing." Reaper sucked in a breath. "We don't want to overwhelm my mom with too many people because she's grieving Daren. Don’t want to put too much pressure on her as a hostess, you know?"
"Oh, that's cool. I get it. So what, it's just you, Mari, and Noelle then? With the rest of the introductions to be made later?"
"Well." He looked more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment. "Jandro is coming too, because my folks knew him from back then. He's like another son, you see. And Noelle is dead-set on bringing Larkan, even though I tried my damndest to talk her out of it."
The pieces finally clicked into place. "SoI'mthe only one excluded?"
"No, Shadow's not coming either. And we're not excluding you, it's just—"
"Shadrow isn't even Mari's," I cut in, my annoyance itching.
Reaper rolled his eyes. "We all know he's going to be, so might as well treat him like he is."
"Does your dad even know you share her with me?"
"Yes," Reaper insisted. "Youarepart of my family, Gunner. He wants to get to know you. It's just a lot of people at once, okay? I promise you that's the only reason."
"Okay, so when? When can it be just us three and Mari with them?"
