Page 10 of Casualties of War
Chapter Two
Everyone was short on sleep, which didn’t help tempers stay cool. Nick had a permanent crick in his neck from sleeping on open ground. Survival training had been too long ago and he’d grown soft since then.
By nine that night, he was aching with inactivity. He stretched himself with a walk about the inner perimeter of the camp, noting personnel placements, the sniper nests up onthe roof of the processing plant and the smelter, and the general alertness of the men. He acknowledged salutes with a nod and moved on.
On the northern side of the camp, a sergeant saluted and sidled up to him. “Best not get too close to the perimeter, sir. The Insurrectos have a sniper who can hit his target.”
The Insurrectos were sitting on the other side of the narrow channel of sea betweenthe Big Rock and mainland Vistaria, which put them an uncomfortable two hundred yards away. For a week now, the Insurrectos had been trading shots with the Loyalists across the strait, whenever anyone showed their heads.
The bridge to the mainland had been taken out during the hurricane, which meant the Loyalists couldn’t get a toehold on the mainland. It also meant the Insurrectos couldn’t takethe silver mine back without a serious offensive.
Instead, they squatted on the cliffs and forced the Loyalists to keep their heads down. It was annoying but Duardo and Flores were working on changing that.
“Is Pedro trying to spot the sniper?” Nick asked the sergeant.
“He’s up on the smelter roof now, sir. They’ve got the bastard tucked away good this time.” The sergeant grinned. “They’relearning.” Pedro had already picked off three of their snipers.
“Thank you for the warning,” Nick said. Instead of completing the round of the camp, he turned and headed back to the tent erected behind the smelter.
Duardo straightened up when he saw Nick. Flores stiffened, his face turning red.
“What’s going on?” Nick demanded, his wariness rising. He looked at the map on the folding tablebetween them. “Your plans have hit a snag?”
Flores shook his head. “The plans are proceeding,” he said.
Nick looked at Duardo. “General?”
Duardo blinked. He hadn’t got used to the promotion, yet. Then his shoulders relaxed. “We had a visit from Hierro.”
Nick sighed. Hierro was the army’s malcontent. He had studied law at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and liked to question every decision,usually by presenting his questions as “concerns from the men”.
Duardo would have kicked him out on his ass long ago, except the man could fight and every man was needed. If this had been peacetime, Hierro would have been court-martialed the first time he stuck his finger up.
Only, sometimes, the damn corporal raised valid concerns.
Flores better tolerated the man. “He is a weathervane,” hetold Nick. “Through him, I can monitor the morale of the men. So I listen when he calls.”
“What was Heirro whining about today?” Nick asked.
Flores made a great show of studying the map.
“Duardo?” Nick prompted.
Duardo rubbed the back of his neck. “It was nothing. A trifle.”
Nick narrowed his eyes. “Something about me,” he guessed. “What?”
Duardo grimaced. “He wanted to make sure we knewVistaria’s constitution didn’t allow for an unelected Presidentpro tem.”
“Ah.” Nick nodded. “And did you make him aware that the country whose constitution he is quoting technically doesn’t exist at the moment?”
Duardo grinned. “You can tell him, if you want. I will never argue law with the bastard. He has a mind like a pretzel.”
“That was notallhe said,” Flores murmured. Still, his eyeswould not meet Nick’s.
“What else, my friend?” Nick said. “Clearly, it is something I will not like. You may as well spit it out now.”
Flores blew out his cheeks. “We have two generals now.”
