Free MuTerra-kindle by R. K. Sidler Page A

also about twenty-five pounds heavier. There were no small features on the man. “Me and Cam took a detail to bring some of our equipment to the mountain. The old man himself assigned me to it and ordered me to stay with it until it was returned. If I dared come back without it, he‘d have my ass.”
    Former Sergeant Ritchie “Cam” Camarillo was the antithesis of the other two men. He stood five feet seven inches tall, and weighed one-hundred fifty-five pounds soaking wet.
    “They allowed you to stay after you brought…..what did you bring anyway?”
    “We brought all of our Nett Warrior systems. The Colonel was pissed too, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He was afraid he wasn’t going to get them back. I guess he was right,” Wallace said solemnly. “Anyway, after we waited in line for hours, we finally made it inside. The officer in charge seemed interested in what we had, and gave us an escort to where it was to be taken. Since I wasn’t planning to leave until I got our stuff back, we hung out with some of the quartermaster guys. A few hours later we found out we were here to stay.”
    “Yeah,” Keith said in understanding.
    “How’d you get here sir, if you don’t mind my asking?”
    “My father, invited me and my wife for a tour,” he said looking both men directly in the eyes. They nodded in understanding.
    “Well, since you are the only guys I know in this outfit, guess who’s gonna be my new assistant and chief clerk,” Keith said with a grin.
    “A clerk,” Camarillo said with resignation.
    “Yeah, afraid so Cam; at least until we get outside again.”
    “When is that gonna be sir,” Wallace asked.
    “I don’t know Wallace, probably not for some time. But we will have to be ready for when it happens, and we’ll have to do our part while we are in here.” They nodded their heads in understanding. “Both of you come with me to the office. I’m going to have to pick a few supervisors for the shifts, and I want your input because you will have to work closely with them too.”
    ―
    The following morning Keith sat in his office looking over the files of the five men he had decided on the previous night. Wallace and Camarillo sat in the outer office with those men. Keith waved his hand to let Cam know he was to show the first man in. The first four were all middle-aged men who had civil criminal justice experience. For what they were going to do while inside, he thought they were the best men for the job. Like his father, Keith thought the best solution to a problem was to put the proverbial round peg into the round hole. All four seemed competent enough and that settled his first order of business. The last man was something different. When Keith read his file, he wondered if it would have made more sense to let him run this operation. He was a former F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Arizona office with fifteen years of experience.
    Keith thought there might be some animosity between them once he learned that his new chief’s claim to fame was being his father’s son, so he decided to feel him out to see if he might want some kind of reassignment. Keith gestured for him to be shown in. He stood behind the desk and offered his hand as he approached, “Nice to meet you Trent, my name’s Keith.” As the two men shook hands, Keith first noticed his eyes. There was a smile on his face, but that did nothing to hide the coldness of those eyes. Keith had taken other lives in the line of duty, and he knew the look of those who took pleasure in it. He was looking at one such person now.
    “My pleasure,” Trent Gibbs said as they both took their seats.
     When anyone was able to focus on him without being repelled by those eyes, they noticed a very ordinary man. He was of medium build and average height with no other distinguishable features including his brown hair and brown eyes. There was an aura of confidence around him, however, and those who had worked with him, knew