Cloud Dust: RD-1 (R-D #1)(71)

"I don't remember." I wiped my face as Rafe let me go.

"Fuck," Rafe said.

"I was going to order something," I defended myself.

"Load up, we'll find a diner somewhere and then decide what to do while we eat," Auggie said. He'd been on the phone with Leo Shaw and the President almost from the moment he walked in. He was looking for something to drink after his conversation. He found an empty fridge instead.

"Cori, you look exhausted," Auggie said as we walked out the door. Nick had fixed it as well as he could, but the door would still have to be replaced.

"Yeah."

"Your car still here?"

"Yes."

"Good. Rafe and I will ride with you. Nick will drive Richard and James."

"I'll drive," Rafe pulled the keys from my hand.

"Don't trust me?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Cabbage, you look as if you could collapse at any moment. Generally, it is wise to stay alert while driving."

"Yeah."

*

Auggie ate while studying a list of potential locations for the Program. James sat beside Auggie and read the same list. Richard and Nick discussed replacing what had been replaced after the Mansion bombing.

Rafe and I watched and listened to the others while having turkey sandwiches and soup. "Want dessert?" he asked softly.

"No. I'm already stuffed," I said.

"Then we'll have ice cream later."

"That sounds good."

"While we talk."

"Yeah."

*

"We only need half the building for this division of the Agriculture Department," the Vice President pointed out. "The rest is forty thousand square feet of updated and unused space."

"That could provide a front for the Program," the President studied the diagram on her computer. "It's on the outskirts of DC, so it's an ideal location. Plenty of parking area around it, so it will be easy to protect."

"It's your call, Madam President."

"Then let's do it. Get someone working on furniture and supplies. Is there room for a cafeteria and a dining hall?"

"Here," the Vice President pointed. "There's a smaller, executive kitchen and dining room here." He pointed to a second location. "We can combine spaces to make suites, and most of those spaces already have a bathroom and shower installed."

"Not much of a view," the President frowned.

"It will do until we find something better."

"True. Send a message to Colonel Hunter."

*

Corinne

By nightfall, we had newly assigned quarters—in the ugliest brick building imaginable.

The front portion was taken up by a division of the Agriculture Department, and all of it was surrounded by a large parking lot. The others were spending the night at the building in Arlington—the one that looked as if the Mystery Machine should be parked out front. At least they had beds, even if they did have ugly, outdated bedspreads.

Auggie wanted to check out the new digs, so we'd be sleeping on the floor. "Cori, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I'm placing you in an interior suite. I caught your window-climbing act, you know," he said.

"Then stop being an ass," I bristled. "You think I can't get away from you again?"

"I knew this was coming," Auggie muttered. "Look, can we table the shouting match until we get this mess sorted out? I have to make a report to the President, and I don't want to get her hackles up, too."

"Madam President can kiss my ass," I said.

"Cori, don't go there."

"Yeah? Tell me again about my free speech."

*

Leo Shaw arrived around midnight with Maye and a trunk full of sleeping bags. If he hadn't, we'd be forced to sleep on tiled floors.

"You should flee while you still can," I told Leo when he hefted his sleeping bag over a shoulder and began searching for a sleeping space.

"Corinne, it isn't the end of the world," he said. "Thank you for saving our asses again, by the way."

"Well, as asses go, yours is at the top of my to save list," I said. "Auggie dropped several notches."

"I heard that," Auggie shouted from down a narrow hall.

"I don't care if you did," I shouted back.

"Corinne, perhaps you should refrain from aggravating everyone and help me find a suitable suite of rooms," Rafe said.

"Oh, are we rooming together again?" I asked. He frowned at me. "We will talk," he said, taking my elbow. "Now."

*

"I was angry," he admitted. "Very angry. Until I realized I have done similar things in the past—allowed one to live when I needed information. I warn you, however, that if I find him, he will die."

"I understand that," I said. "I wouldn't ask you to do otherwise."

We sat in separate corners to have our discussion. He wanted to hold onto me. I wanted to see where we stood with one another, first.

"What will you do if I kill him?" Ilya asked.

"Try to find the next source of information," I shrugged. "There will be others; I just don't know how many people will die in the interim."