With a little scream, Katherine jumped nearly a foot off the ground she was so startled by that booming voice. She almost snapped to attention and saluted the general who had come up behind her.
“In or out. You’re blocking my door.”
Quickly, she lurched to the side to let him pass, nearly falling over a bush. Righting herself, she mumbled, “Sorry, sir.”
He was dressed in his usual sharply pressed fatigues, his silver brush cut covered by his hat, the brim shading his eyes, but she could feel his steely gaze moving over her. “Did you need to see me?”
Shouldshe say something? She was already pretty sure she was the most disliked person on this base. Would reporting her suspicions make things worse? Especially if they were unfounded…
“Miss Knox?”
She took a deep breath. If she was in a bad situation where she was afraid to say anything for whatever reason, she’d want someone to speak up for her. “Yes, sir. If you have a few minutes?”
General Davies dipped his chin sharply. “My office.”
Katherine trooped in behind him and was grateful when he shut the door, giving them privacy.
“Take a seat.”
Doing as she was told, her eyes bounced nervously around his office. It hadn’t changed since the last time she’d been here, not that she’d expected it to. The dark wood of his desk, the flags hanging from their poles behind his chair. Shelves with books and framed pictures. Framed certificates on the wall as well as a rather large collection of mounted weapons.
Katherine quickly looked away from the last and swallowed hard. She was twisting her fingers together nervously, so she forced herself to pry them apart and swiped her damp palms on her skirt. She’d always had to manage her anxiety, she’d thought she’d had a decent handle on it but since she’d been at Black Bay, it seemed to have gotten worse.
“Miss Knox?”
“I’d like to stay anonymous,” she blurted.
The general sat back in his chair and eyed her. “That will depend on what you need to tell me, but if I can, I’ll keep your name out of it.”
That was probably as good as she was going to get.
“I may have read the situation totally wrong,” she cautioned. “I don’t know the people here very well.” She let out a nervous titter of laughter. “I’m probably the most hated person on this base.”
“Not at all,” General Davies told her, and her hopes lifted, thinking he was going to tell her she wasn’t hated at all. They came crashing right back down when he added, “The most hated person on this base is in the brig.”
Her words locked in her throat. Right. Okay. She was back to wringing her hands as sweat trickled down her spine despite the comfortable temperature of the room.
“Why don’t you tell me what you saw.” He lifted a brow. “Or maybe it was something you overheard?”
Snap out of it, Katherine. You are better than this.Clearing her throat, she nodded. She told him about her conversation in the mess hall with Paige, and how the nurse had reacted when Katherine had asked about her husband. “It was just a feeling, you understand,” she clarified. “But if she’s in trouble…” She let the rest of that sentence go unsaid. Sitting up straighter, she added, “I would want someone to say something if I were ever in that situation.”
General Davies had a hint of a frown on his face, but he nodded. “I’ll look into it. Thank you for telling me.”
Katherine breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing a bit.
“Was there anything else?”
“No, sir.”
Katherine stood and the general did the same, coming around his desk to show her out.
“Everything going okay over in the Resurrection hub? ORION’s behaving?”
She nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“The others? Are they treating you well?”
She opened her mouth but immediately snapped it closed again. How should she answer that?
