Page 14 of Duty Devoted
“Overwatch?”
“Fancy word for lookout,” I said, making more notes. “My team will position monitoring equipment up here. Part of our weather station cover.”
Lauren moved to the edge of the roof, looking out over the canopy. “I like the view from up here. Sometimes I come up here just to think.”
I almost asked about what, but that wasn’t any of my business. And honestly, I shouldn’t care. Ididn’tcare.
I pointed back to the ladder. “Let’s see the rest of the facility.”
She raised her eyebrow at my tone that admittedly came out like I was some cranky old fuck. But it was more because I was pissed at myself than anything she was doing.
The living conditions were exactly what I’d expected from the intelligence briefings—basic to the point of primitive. The doctors shared a common area with mismatched furniture that looked like it had been donated by several different sources.
Their sleeping quarters were tiny rooms with narrow cots, minimal storage, and no privacy to speak of. The kitchen consisted of a hot plate, a small refrigerator that sounded like it was fighting for its life, and shelves stocked with canned goods and basic supplies.
It reminded me of the forward operating bases from my deployments—that familiar mix of improvisation and grit, of getting by with less while staying locked on the mission. Only this time, the mission wasn’t combat. These doctors were helping the locals, not fighting them.
It was damn impressive. They’d built something real here.
I turned—and found Lauren watching me from the doorway. I wanted to tell her. That I respected what they’d built. That I saw how hard it must be to keep showing up, day after day, with so little to work with and still make a difference.
That I was impressed with her.
Fuck. Get a grip.I wasn’t here to make friends.
“Thanks for the tour. You’re dismissed.” Christ. Not what I meant to say.
Her brow lifted. “Should I salute?”
“I meant you’re free to go. You don’t need to stay here.”
“Yeah, I get it. None of us are staying here.” And with that, she turned and walked away.
Chapter 5
Logan
The afternoon sunbeat down on the metal weather station as I tightened the last bolt, sweat dripping between my shoulder blades. The equipment looked convincing enough—a mix of legitimate sensors and whatever electronic junk Jace had cobbled together to sell our cover story.
“Mister! Mister!” a small voice piped up behind me.
I turned to find three kids, maybe nine or ten years old, watching from a safe distance. They’d been creeping closer for the past hour, curiosity finally overcoming caution.
The bravest one, a boy with a gap-toothed grin, pointed at the anemometer Ty was mounting on a pole and rattled off a question in rapid Spanish.
“It’s for…” I searched for the words. “Wind. To measure wind.”
The kids giggled, and Gap-Tooth shook his head vigorously, launching into an explanation that involved a lot of handgestures. The smallest kid, a girl with pigtails, made whooshing sounds and flapped her arms like a bird.
“I think they think we’re studying birds,” Ty muttered.
“No, not birds,” Jace tried, holding up the laptop showing weather data. “Rain? Storms?”
The third kid’s eyes went wide, and he said something that made the other two burst into laughter.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“No idea, but I don’t think we’re getting our point across.”
