The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(48)

“I’ll do my best.” She deliberately looked at the clock. “I suppose I should get home to the kiddies and the partner.”

Dwayne nodded. “It’s late. Tell Robert hello for me.”

“I will.” She stood and he could see that she had fully regained her composure. “Don’t forget the poker game on Saturday. Robert is planning on trouncing you.”

Dwayne forced a grin. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Petra disappeared through the doorway into the gloom of the hallway. He sighed as the office door slid shut.

It was stopped abruptly by a hand and he caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Since the building was not on lockdown, the door politely asked the person’s name, but Dwayne knew she wouldn’t want to be identified.

“Permission granted. Override protocols to identify,” Dwayne ordered.

The door complied.

Lindsey shambled into the office and the door slid shut behind her. Leaning on her cane, she walked to his desk, a pad clutched in one hand. “I was waiting for her to leave,” she said, scooting into a chair. Still in her uniform, she was as polished as Petra, but her injury was a sad reminder of all that was wrong with the city.

“What do you have for me?”

“Well, officially, I have a report on communication center equipment that you requested.”

“I did?”

“You did. It’s quite detailed and explained why you need to commission some new units,” Lindsey said with a grin.

Dwayne smirked. “Do we have any in storage?”

“Warehouse Forty-Seven has six units that were misplaced a few years ago, but I found through a search of the updated inventory lists from this year.”

“You’re tenacious.”

“I’m thorough.” Lindsey grinned.

“But why are you really here?” Dwayne asked, his voice dropping as he took on a more somber tone. He knew Lindsey wouldn’t have come if not for something very important.

Lindsey took a deep breath, then dropped a small drive on his desk. “Four communiques. Both from the SWD to Commandant Pierce. Both were top priority and maximum security. Both were scrubbed within seconds of transmission from both the sender and receiver.”

“But you caught them,” Dwayne said, impressed.

“I’m thorough,” Lindsey reminded him.

“What are they about?”

“The SWD requested one medic, highly trained, doctor preferred in top physical condition that had to meet a certain biological profile. The commandant answered that she would dispatch one immediately to the SWD. And she asked why this request was not made when the other soldiers for the mission were selected.” Lindsey’s hands were visibly trembling.

“What was the answer?” Dwayne plucked the drive from the desktop and stared at it thoughtfully.

“The answer was that the medic must fit the physical profile, or there could be the possibility of the Inferi Scourge Infection.”

Dwayne looked at Lindsey quizzically.

“The fourth communique was not to the commandant, but from the SWD to the president. It was to inform him of the death of one of the soldiers in the Special Ops unit. Death by the Inferi Scourge Plague Virus.”

Her words hit like a physical blow and Dwayne flinched. “Can you find out if it’s Maria?”

“SWD implemented new security protocols today. The program I gave you can slice through it, but it’s harder for me to transverse their system. Of course, I managed to get around their little roadblocks. It wasn’t Maria. It was a SWD tech.”

Dwayne felt guilty for feeling so relieved. “Any indication as to how he was infected?”

“An adverse response to the Inferi Boon Virus they’re using. His body was destroyed and there is a cover story in place. There’s a good chance Maria doesn’t even know this guy died.” Lindsey rubbed her nose and sighed. “This operation is really messy. It reeks of desperation.”

“I have to agree.” Dwayne lapsed into silence as he considered her news.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go public with all of this?” The worry etched into Lindsey’s brow matched his own.

Dwayne shook his head. “Maria believes in what she is doing. It gives me pause to usurp a mission that will free the city from the Scrags. But I am beginning to have grave reservations.”

“So we won’t do anything.”

Dwayne nodded. “Not yet.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for more information.”

“Thank you. You’re a good soldier and a good friend, Lindsey.”

She gave him a slight smile, then stood up. “I lost Ryan and a lot of other good people to the Scrags. I don’t want to lose Maria. I have to believe she’s okay...even if she’s...”

“She’ll come back to us,” Dwayne said firmly. He had to believe it and he wouldn’t stop believing it. He wanted Maria in his arms and far away from the dangers of the Inferi Scourge.

“I know you feel that what she’s doing is the right thing, but does any of this make you nervous at all?”

Dwayne stared at the cooling mug of coffee sitting on this desk, then gave her a short nod. “Absolutely. But I believe in Maria and she is adamant that she is doing the right thing for all of us.” His eyes strayed to the reports on the corner of his desk.