Free Shadow Fall (The Shadow Saga) by J. L. Lyon Page A

Or was it something even more serious than that?
    The doors closed, leaving the two men alone. Alexander let the silence stretch for several seconds, no doubt wanting 301 to sweat in wondering why he had been detained. And indeed, a bit of perspiration did appear on 301’s forehead.
    At last the MWR motioned to the chair across from his desk—a chair which, to 301’s knowledge, was only for decoration. He had never seen anyone sit there, so it was somewhat of a shock when Alexander spoke, “Have a seat, Specter Captain.”
    301 hesitated, and then sat down in the chair. It felt awkward, as though the wall of formality had suddenly come down between himself and the most powerful man in the world. He might have preferred standing—at attention, even. That was his place. Not here, sitting with the MWR as an equal.
    “How are you doing, Captain?” Alexander asked.
    301’s nerves spiked nearly as high as they did before battle. “What do you mean, sir?”
    “You woke up this morning next to a traitor,” Alexander said. “And one of your superiors has just fled the city to make war against us. I was just wondering how this has affected you.”
    “I suppose I’m…angry. Confused. Sad. Liz and I have been friends for a long time, sir. I can’t wrap my mind around why she would do this.”
    “The same old reasons, I suppose,” the MWR said absently. “He must have something she wants. Betraying you—betraying everything , really—was the price to get it. Though unfortunately, this does lead to some questions that might be a bit…uncomfortable. Such as whether or not you knew anything of this plot, given your intimacy with Specter Aurora and the apparent favoritism the Ruling Council lavished upon you.”
    301 paused. He needed to tread lightly here, to skirt the truth but not get caught in a lie. If Alexander even suspected that he knew about Sullivan’s betrayal beforehand, that would be the end of him. “I knew there was tension between the Ruling Council and yourself, sir. And to be honest, the Premier approached me several times with offers of friendship in exchange for my loyalty. However, I understood that loyalty to be subservient to my duties as a soldier, and never imagined it would go this far.”
    “I see,” Alexander frowned, and for a moment 301 worried he had not been convincing enough. But then the MWR went on, “It just so happens that I believe you, Specter Captain. Not because of that shining example of sincerity you just spouted, but because I know Sullivan. He turned Aurora the moment she arrived, and attempted to use her to gain your allegiance. Had he succeeded he would not have left you behind. You would have gone with him, or been disposed of.”
    301 thought of the knife stuck into his side table, suddenly glad he had forgotten to include that in his report. Liz had been instructed to kill him…orders she did not follow.
    “In any case, when you came out of the Hall of Mirrors alive that day three months ago, Sullivan and I made an agreement. He would choose five of the ten trainees for Specter, and I would choose the rest. You were on my list, not his. So you see, from the very beginning you have been my champion. We have had our differences, it is true, but I have faith in your abilities. And on that note, there is something you need to know before you arrive at the Solithium Depot.”
    “What is that, sir?”
    “As I said, the reports coming in from the depot have been unsatisfactory, but they did send this over for me to review.” The MWR raised the lid on his laptop computer and spun the device around where 301 could see. “Surveillance from one of the cameras Silent Thunder neglected to destroy.”
    The screen displayed a still shot of a group of rebels as they made their way across the fields between two Solithium pylons. At their center Grace Sawyer was clearly visible, as were the new rank stripes on her shoulders.
    “You see the situation this places us in, Specter