Free Dissident by Cecilia London Page A

stung. She was only being protective, but Caroline knew that Chrissy secretly believed that she was much too nice sometimes. Maybe most of the time. Caroline conceded the possibility that there was more to the flowers, but that was preposterous. And Christine was probably right. God only knew how many women Jack had on the sly. She hadn’t really heard anything but maybe she needed to pay more attention.
    Not that it mattered; she still wasn’t interested in dating anyone. Not yet. But Caroline grasped one thing for sure. She definitely wasn’t going to talk about Jack McIntyre with Christine Sullivan anymore.

Chapter Five
     
    Livingston and Savage were sitting at the large conference table in the meeting room near their offices. Bill glanced at his watch. Lieutenant Mitchell was late for their scheduled appointment.
    “Where is that kid?” he asked.
    “Not a clue. Maybe everything’s slipping, including military punctuality.”
    Bill hadn’t seen the man since that first encounter.  Mitchell had never been present for any conference calls, face to face meetings…it was as if he just vanished into the wind. He was sick of this shit and knew Maureen was, too. Although Representative Gerard wasn’t the first political prisoner to be housed within their facility, she was the highest profile. And definitely the one with the best public reputation.
    Martial law. Political prisoners. The majority of Americans with the wool still pulled over their eyes. Bill never thought he’d live to see the way things had evolved over the past year. None of what the Army was doing made any sense. The constant pestering, the insistence upon discharging patients who weren’t fully recovered, the requests to violate every single ethical standard the hospital had in order to give them what they wanted…it was totally outside his realm of understanding.
    They heard loud footsteps coming down the hall and straightened up. A burly, angry looking man walked into the room.
    “Drs. Livingston and Savage?” he asked.
    Bill nodded. “That’s us.” He scanned the insignia and identifiers on the man’s service uniform. “What can we do for you, Colonel…Slade?”
    “I’m here to speak to you about the prisoner you refuse to release,” Slade said brusquely.
    “Where is Lieutenant Mitchell?” Maureen asked.
    “That is none of your concern,” Slade snapped.
    “He was our first contact,” Bill pointed out. “We had hoped to have a satisfactory working relationship. I’d like to know what happened.”
    “He has been reassigned,” Slade said. “That is all you need to know. This is my case now.”
    Bill glared at the man. “My answers haven’t changed, if you’ve been privy to any of the conversations I’ve had with your fellow soldiers at INSCOM.”
    “They need to change. It’s been three days. We have an investigation to conduct.”
    “And you will do it when Ms. Gerard has had some time to recover,” Maureen said.
    “No,” Slade responded. “She needs to be discharged immediately.”
    “Under whose authority?” Bill asked.
    Slade sneered at him. “Mine.”
    “Where’s your warrant?” Bill asked.
    “I do not require a warrant. She is a terror suspect.”
    Maureen laughed sarcastically, apparently unmindful of the man’s reaction. “That’s the most outlandish thing I’ve ever heard.”
    “Ms. Gerard is a United States citizen,” Bill told Slade. “Last time I checked, the Constitution still applies to her and every other American.”
    “Not according to the latest Executive Order signed by the President.”
    Bill stared at the colonel. “Ah, yes. Interesting how there’s really no judiciary or Congress to keep him under control anymore, isn’t it?”
    Slade eyed him. “Your patient is wanted for questioning for violations of the United States Criminal Code pertaining to treasonous activities. She is to be discharged immediately into the custody of the National Security Agency.”
    “No.” Bill