Phoenix
said.
    Jesus, these men were frosty, that was for fucking sure. And his answer was rather vague. “Can you go into specifics?” Caroline asked.
    Another cold stare. He probably would be her instructor, with her luck. “Obey your commanders and it won’t be an issue.”
    Flaherty was just as evasive as every other damn person on the base. “It seems to me there should be a book of rules and regulations,” she said. “Or do you all fly by the seat of your pants?”
    Jack turned to her. “Everything you need prior to basic training, including an instruction manual, will be provided to you in the coming days.”
    “Great,” she said. “Will the details of this enterprise be covered during our training?”
    Flaherty frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re asking.”
    She sighed. He wasn’t daft. She’d stumped him and hadn’t anticipated doing it this early in the game. “Details about the rebellion, our allies, our plans, our mission.” You know, the important stuff. Stuff I shouldn’t have to fucking ask about. Had she really posed such an unusual question?
    “Personnel are provided that information depending on rank and the sensitivity of their position,” Jack said.
    Wasn’t that a load of crappy crap crap. Now she definitely couldn’t conceal her anger. “I think we have a right to know what we’re getting into here. Do people sign up without a clue as to what their service entails?”
    Flaherty started to speak but Jack lifted his hand. “What would you care to know, Caroline? I’d be happy to address your concerns.”
    Ugh, she wished he wouldn’t talk to her like that. He hadn’t used a pet name but there was an intimacy to his tone. Like they were the only two people in the room. It made her uncomfortable in a way she couldn’t fully articulate. She had to learn to shake those things off. Let them go. Act as blasé as possible. Which was much easier to do if she had something else to focus on.
    “Where are our allies?” she asked. “Where are our operatives? Do we have a general course of action? Why hasn’t Santos tried to take out this base?”
    Jack smiled slightly. “All very legitimate questions, but I’m not sure I can provide the answers during a thirty minute orientation.”
    Was not sure code for don’t wanna ? Probably. Flaherty cut in. “May I answer the last question, sir?”
    Jack sat back, apparently willing to let one of his officers take over. Caroline wondered if Flaherty was his chief advisor. Seemed like a huge responsibility if he also coordinated the basic training program. But her husband had always been good at delegating to others and avoiding reality.
    “The California Republican Army seized control of Camp Pendleton in January of last year,” Flaherty explained. “The Marines were forced to flee and did little more than destroy what sensitive materials they could before leaving the base. However, there was one tiny piece of their defense system that remained untouched.”
    “And what’s that?” Caroline asked.
    Flaherty smiled. “We’re sitting on a secret stockpile of nuclear weapons. There’s another small supply at what used to be Beale Air Force Base.”
    Beale, just north of Sacramento, had been primarily used for unmanned aircraft. Regardless, none of what he was saying seemed logical. “Excuse me?”
    “Santos knows if he comes near us, it’s mutually assured destruction.”
    That sounded rather dire. Would they really take it that far? “That’s not possible,” Caroline said. “I was on Homeland Security for most of my time in Congress. Secret stockpiles never once came up in any security briefings, nor were they mentioned whenever I traveled here.”
    Jones smirked. “Guess they didn’t tell you everything, Princess.”
    She decided to ignore that, though she gave Jonesie credit for being the only one to have the chutzpah to speak up. “Why would jarheads flee when they had a nuclear arsenal at their disposal?” she

Similar Books

Ascending

James Alan Gardner

Chain of Fools

Richard Stevenson

Bare Witness

Katherine Garbera