Rather than pulling into the small enclosed garage, she parked in the open-air lot closest to the BOQ, finding a space at the far end, near a wall. She removed her suitcase on wheels from the trunk of her car. She had already been given a set of keys, so she had no problem either getting inside the functional-looking concrete building or into her apartment after taking the elevator up one floor.
Interestingly, or not, she didn’t run into any other people. Also a good thing, since she didn’t really want to have a gabfest. Not now.
She didn’t spend much time assessing the quarters where she would stay as long as the general kept them at this base. The place resembled a tiny one-bedroom apartment. That was good enough.
She was back outside in only a few minutes, walking in the remaining daylight along a sidewalk toward the cafeteria. As she neared it, she began to see people—others also in camo fatigues and thick-soled shoes similar to hers.
She wondered if she would be able to discern any differences between the two main units now present at Ft. Lukman. That was one of the reasons General Yarrow intended to station himself for a while at this base. He was in charge of Alpha Force, the special-ops unit that had been headquartered here for a few years. A new special-ops group, the Ultra Special Forces Team, had only been assigned here about a month ago to prepare for a highly classified and critically important team assignment with Alpha Force, and the general had heard about some friction between the two units.
He wanted to observe it—and, if necessary, make some changes.
Sara, as the primary aide assigned to General Yarrow, would be his eyes and ears and, if necessary, his mouth.
A group of four enlisted personnel—two men and two women—stood by the building’s entrance. They stopped their conversation and saluted her, and she saluted back.
Interesting, since the general had said that things were fairly low-key and informal here at Ft. Lukman. These soldiers were therefore probably among the new arrivals.
The general had also hinted at a lot of other things about what went on at Ft. Lukman, none of which could be real. He liked to joke. His sense of humor was obviously quite different from hers. But she always admired how serious he appeared, even while jesting.
Inside an entry hall, Sara saw people going in and out through an open doorway in the middle—obviously the way into the cafeteria. The aroma of grilled meat grew stronger the closer she got, confirming her assumption.
The place was smaller than she’d anticipated for a base this size—a long room crowded with occupied tables. She headed toward the food line and picked out a hamburger and fries, then got a soft drink.
Once she paid, she looked around for an empty spot and saw none. She could get the meal to go, but for now was carrying a tray.
“Hi,” said a female voice beside her. “You look lost.” Sara turned and saw a woman in camo uniform with layered tawny hair and a big smile—another lieutenant, like her. “You wouldn’t happen to be General Yarrow’s aide, would you? We were told you’d be here tomorrow, but I don’t think anyone else is expected right now.”
Sara smiled. “Good guess. I’m Sara McLinder.” She saw that her new companion’s name tag read Hodell.
“I’m Colleen Hodell. Welcome. Here, we’ll make room at our table for you.” She gestured across the room where some other soldiers were seated around a table. “They’re all Alpha Force members.”
“Thanks,” Sara said, and followed Colleen.
By the time they got there, someone had pulled an empty chair up to the table. Eight people were already seated around it. Sara smiled and nodded through the introductions. Interestingly, officers and enlisted personnel were all eating together.
Alpha Force protocol might be stronger around here than that of the regular military. Well, the general had warned her to expect things to be different from what she was used to, and some of it had to be real. If this fraternization made her uncomfortable, she wouldn’t show it. Just being friendly wasn’t prohibited under military regulations.
She placed her tray on the table and sat down.
“Welcome to Ft. Lukman,” said the man seated beside her. According to his insignia, he was a sergeant. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard a welcome, but this soldier’s deep voice resonated with what sounded like irony. She looked at him, planning to maintain her rank and dignity.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” she said brusquely, then looked away after noting what appeared to be sexual interest in his flashing golden eyes.
She must have imagined it. That would be the kind of fraternizing that was definitely forbidden under military regulations.
Although...well, she wasn’t supposed to notice such things, but that sergeant was one handsome guy. He looked fairly young, maybe late twenties like her, but his short, black hair was flecked with silver. His features were sharp, his smile gorgeous and challenging—and she couldn’t help noticing how broad his shoulders appeared beneath his camo shirt.
“Are you a new member of Alpha Force?” asked the sergeant, whose ID tag said his last name was Connell.
“Not exactly,” she said. “I’m General Yarrow’s aide, and I’ll be here as long as he is. He is planning some exercises for Alpha Force while he’s here.”
“Then you’re not—” The female sergeant across the table, whose name tag said Jessop, stopped speaking when Colleen elbowed her in the ribs.
“Has the general told you much about Alpha Force?” asked another man at the other side of the table. Sara nearly rose and saluted as she noticed his brass. He was a major. But the informality around here stopped her. Members of this unit might act all military elsewhere, but while eating dinner in this cafeteria they were all, apparently, just people.
“No, sir,” Sara said. “Not really.” Greg Yarrow had implied that things around here were quite different from the rest of the military without giving any credible explanation. He had even suggested that some of the members of Alpha Force went beyond any military skill she could ever imagine—because they were shapeshifters. Hah! She had worked with him long enough to anticipate and deal with that offbeat sense of humor of his. Despite his straight face, he knew better. He couldn’t actually imagine she was a gullible subordinate who’d buy into that. Even so, he hadn’t told her anything genuinely distinctive about the remote and covert unit. She figured she would learn the real differences here on the job.
She took a bite of her hamburger. Not bad for cafeteria food.
“Interesting,” said the sergeant beside her. “Maybe I should show you around. Teach you what you need to know.”
“Back off, Jason.” That was the major. She squinted slightly to see his name tag.
It read Connell just like the sergeant’s. Jason’s.
Talk about interesting... Were the noncom and officer related?
That would be unusual—not that relatives had joined the military, but that both men would be in the same unit.
Was that somehow part of the reason that Alpha Force was considered different from other special-ops units?
Doubtful, but— Well, it made more sense than imagining that any of these very real-looking people could be shapeshifters, despite the general’s teasing insinuations that they were. But just being related didn’t make these soldiers distinctive, unless, perhaps, their family members had taught one another useful skills from youth that other people might not have. She couldn’t think of a good example, though.
Maybe they really had taught one another how to shapeshift.
Not!
She took a sip