blend
in. Their second one is that if we get caught, they have no idea who we are.”
Scratching his arm, Tom thought about the setup. He’d have
to watch Ramsay’s back and his own, and he still wasn’t sure Da’shay was on
their side. “So, do I have to do anything other than shoot anyone who tries to
shoot us?”
“You might.” Eli’s face twisted into a grimace for the
briefest second, and then he cleared his throat and his all-military mask was
back in place. “Command says that we may have to apply pressure on some people
and that Ramsay is authorized to give orders in violation of Section 39-7.”
Tom stopped breathing. “They wrote that down?”
Eli shook his head. “No, they told the captain that in
person before we left.”
That figured. If you ordered your officers to violate the
rules against torture, you really didn’t want to leave an electronic trail
leading back to you. Tom just wasn’t sure if Ramsay would actually do that.
Eli fell silent, a God-almighty unhappy look on his face.
Tom figured Eli had put his faith in government laws and now Command was
telling him he didn’t have to follow ‘em. If Tom were a little bit smarter, he
might be able to figure out if that made Eli likely to quit or just take up
drinking like the rest of them. Hell, even Becca knew how to get shit-faced when
things got rough.
Eventually Ramsay showed up at the door, a new handheld in
his hand. Instead of saying anything, he stood there, staring at Tom. His jaw
was clenched and his white hair that had been tied back was pulled out one
side. Tom traded an uncomfortable look with Eli. Something wasn’t right.
“Captain?” Eli asked, moving to the side as best he could in
the cramped quarters.
“Tom, I’m so sorry,” Becca said, sticking her head around
the captain so she could see into his room, and Tom was starting to feel more
than a little claustrophobic with all these people in his room.
“For what?” Tom asked, suddenly even more uncomfortable. A
little part of him wanted to push them all back out so he could have his room
to himself, which was surprising considering he’d spent the last three days
wishing he had something to distract him from a whole lot of ugly thoughts.
“I didn’t—” Becca swallowed, and it looked as if she was
trying to push past Ramsay, but he didn’t give her enough room to fit. “I
hadn’t worked on a raptor class ship before, and when I first joined up, I was
all caught up in the technical specs and I read the other duties section, but
it didn’t sink in. I never meant to forget you in here.”
“Sir?” Eli turned his back on Tom and focused on Becca and the
captain.
“She hasn’t brought any meals,” Ramsay said, his voice
tightly controlled. “Three days Tom’s been in here and she didn’t remember the
part in the ship rules where the engineer was responsible for bringing meals
when someone was restricted to quarters.”
“I’m really, really sorry,” Becca said. Her eyes were puffy,
as if she might cry, and Tom shifted uncomfortably.
“Not the first meals I’ve ever missed,” Tom said.
Ramsay slapped his hand against the wall. “Why the hell
didn’t you call someone?”
“With what handheld, sir?” Tom asked, looking at the one in
Ramsay’s hand. It wasn’t as if he’d asked to have his computer broken, not when
he was stuck for three days staring at the same walls wondering how much shit
he was in.
Ramsay pointed to the control panel. “Then you hit the
emergency button, but no, you have to play martyr and sit in here for three
days without food. God damn it, Tom. Do you have even one ounce of common
sense?”
There were a lot of things that ran through Tom’s mind.
Emergency buttons were for emergencies and Tom wasn’t anywhere near starving to
death. Even if he had hit the button, he had no way of knowing whether or not
Ramsay was trying to teach him a lesson. Yeah, thinking on it now, it was
unlikely, but he would have said
in. Their second one is that if we get caught, they have no idea who we are.”
Scratching his arm, Tom thought about the setup. He’d have
to watch Ramsay’s back and his own, and he still wasn’t sure Da’shay was on
their side. “So, do I have to do anything other than shoot anyone who tries to
shoot us?”
“You might.” Eli’s face twisted into a grimace for the
briefest second, and then he cleared his throat and his all-military mask was
back in place. “Command says that we may have to apply pressure on some people
and that Ramsay is authorized to give orders in violation of Section 39-7.”
Tom stopped breathing. “They wrote that down?”
Eli shook his head. “No, they told the captain that in
person before we left.”
That figured. If you ordered your officers to violate the
rules against torture, you really didn’t want to leave an electronic trail
leading back to you. Tom just wasn’t sure if Ramsay would actually do that.
Eli fell silent, a God-almighty unhappy look on his face.
Tom figured Eli had put his faith in government laws and now Command was
telling him he didn’t have to follow ‘em. If Tom were a little bit smarter, he
might be able to figure out if that made Eli likely to quit or just take up
drinking like the rest of them. Hell, even Becca knew how to get shit-faced when
things got rough.
Eventually Ramsay showed up at the door, a new handheld in
his hand. Instead of saying anything, he stood there, staring at Tom. His jaw
was clenched and his white hair that had been tied back was pulled out one
side. Tom traded an uncomfortable look with Eli. Something wasn’t right.
“Captain?” Eli asked, moving to the side as best he could in
the cramped quarters.
“Tom, I’m so sorry,” Becca said, sticking her head around
the captain so she could see into his room, and Tom was starting to feel more
than a little claustrophobic with all these people in his room.
“For what?” Tom asked, suddenly even more uncomfortable. A
little part of him wanted to push them all back out so he could have his room
to himself, which was surprising considering he’d spent the last three days
wishing he had something to distract him from a whole lot of ugly thoughts.
“I didn’t—” Becca swallowed, and it looked as if she was
trying to push past Ramsay, but he didn’t give her enough room to fit. “I
hadn’t worked on a raptor class ship before, and when I first joined up, I was
all caught up in the technical specs and I read the other duties section, but
it didn’t sink in. I never meant to forget you in here.”
“Sir?” Eli turned his back on Tom and focused on Becca and the
captain.
“She hasn’t brought any meals,” Ramsay said, his voice
tightly controlled. “Three days Tom’s been in here and she didn’t remember the
part in the ship rules where the engineer was responsible for bringing meals
when someone was restricted to quarters.”
“I’m really, really sorry,” Becca said. Her eyes were puffy,
as if she might cry, and Tom shifted uncomfortably.
“Not the first meals I’ve ever missed,” Tom said.
Ramsay slapped his hand against the wall. “Why the hell
didn’t you call someone?”
“With what handheld, sir?” Tom asked, looking at the one in
Ramsay’s hand. It wasn’t as if he’d asked to have his computer broken, not when
he was stuck for three days staring at the same walls wondering how much shit
he was in.
Ramsay pointed to the control panel. “Then you hit the
emergency button, but no, you have to play martyr and sit in here for three
days without food. God damn it, Tom. Do you have even one ounce of common
sense?”
There were a lot of things that ran through Tom’s mind.
Emergency buttons were for emergencies and Tom wasn’t anywhere near starving to
death. Even if he had hit the button, he had no way of knowing whether or not
Ramsay was trying to teach him a lesson. Yeah, thinking on it now, it was
unlikely, but he would have said
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