Free A Shepherd's Calling (What Comes After Book 2) by Peter Carrier

your company are known to the general population and might even be familiar to select members of government or Command. If I were a betting man, I would wager them to be... poorly received. Food for thought.” Vargas smiled thinly and scooped up his rucksack. “If you care to join us, Mr. DuPuis, we'll be leaving in five. If not... good luck and God speed.”
    With that, just as they had the night before, the marines left the room. This time, however, the guard at the door and the Staff Sergeant remained in the room until the other military men had gone. Only after the rest of their unit were out of sight, did these last two back toward the door, eyes still on the small group in the middle of the vehicle bay. Then, each ducked around the corner and disappeared.
    As the last marine was leaving, Janessa took hold of her brother's arm.
    “ Don't,” she said.
    Toby turned toward her, eyes wide and nostrils flaring. He looked furious, but also saw Tom watching him. No doubt he remembered what happened the last time he did something after his sister asked him not to when the Shepherd had been looking at him that way. While he did nothing to further aggravate the situation, he seemed no less angry. As though proving this point, he wrenched his arm from his sister's grasp and began pacing, muttering and shaking his head.
    Janessa looked at Tom, her head turning toward him in more of a roll across her shoulder than a swiveled arc. “And you wanna go with those guys?”
    Tom returned her gaze. “I do. While his sense of timing leaves something to be desired, Vargas is telling the truth. He wants to get us to safety and he wants us to want that, too. He won't allow any of us to come to harm as long as we don't jeopardize his men.”
    Just admit it , he thought. You want to see it, too. You want to see if Quebec is still there and if it is, you want to see how it is and who's there and what they're doing. Just seeing the city will say so much about the state of... everything . He did not allow himself to dare to hope that even if he learned all he could in the old Canadian city, that he would then be worthy enough to return home.
    “ How can you know that?” Disgust mixed with wonder and judgment in Janessa's tone.
    “ I just do,” Tom replied. “I know it the same way I know you and Toby want to change. The same way I know Ben needs us in his life, at least for now.”
    “ I know that makes you crazy.” Toby shook his head and resumed muttering.
    Tom considered those words. “Maybe,” he said at last.
    “ Instead of questioning the Shepherd's mercy, compassion and resolve, why don't we ensure we are crystal clear about the moral of the Major's story?” Chris brought them back to the matter at hand with a deftness borne from years of teaching and a natural sense of timing.
    “ What lesson might that be? That he's a dick? That he gets Muppets to do his dirty work for him? Or that he doesn't pay attention to things really important to his job? Hmm? All of the above? None of the above?” The sarcasm in Janessa's voice bordered on hostility.
    “ We can learn many things from his tale, but the most important is also the most obvious: he doesn't like you. Either of you. I can't blame him.” He was looking at the siblings, his face twisted with contempt. “Stop feeling persecuted and picked on. You ate people, for Christ's sake. One of the few cardinal rules of civilization and you made a life out of breaking it. For now, that means the two of you best step carefully around those men. Just to be on the safe side, never stray too far from the Shepherd. We can go over the rest of what his story told us when we're less pressed for time.”
    “ What does that make you, gramps? The soldier didn't talk to you, either.” Her voice lost it's conviction even as she spoke.
    The Hunter didn't blink. “I was in the service, miss. I'm used to other people writing me off or considering me 'expendable'. I found his honestly and