As Goose stepped into the hallway, he spotted CIA Section Chief Cody making a beeline for the security office. His three agents followed in his slipstream.
Limping slightly, Goose continued toward the main room. It was going to be interesting to see who won the battle of wills between the captain and the CIA agent. But it was a grim reminder that more was at stake than Goose knew.
The tensions inside the city were building as quickly as those outside the city. Goose wouldn’t have wanted to take bets on which one was going to blow first.
13
United States of America
Fort Benning, Georgia
Local Time 2241 Hours
Megan’s cell phone chirped for attention and roused her from her recurring nightmare of Leslie Hollister’s shooting. The unexpected sound startled her.
Over the last few days, cellular service had remained impossible.
The circuits that were still up after the disappearances were often taken over by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Repeated interviews with FEMA spokespeople had assured listeners that the service would be returned as soon as possible.
Megan placed her coffee on the floor as she reached for her purse. She took the phone out and flipped it open. “Hello.”
“Megan?”
“Yes.” Megan recognized Jenny McGrath’s voice. Joey had brought her to the post during the night of the disappearances. He’d taken her out to a club that night, using a fake ID and staying out way past his curfew.
At first, Megan had partially blamed Jenny for Joey’s waywardness, but meeting the girl had changed that opinion. She was beautiful and outgoing, and only nineteen.
Jenny had told Megan everything about her relationship with Joey. There hadn’t been much to tell. She had known Joey liked her, and she’d liked him. But Jenny had no intention of getting serious about anyone because she didn’t have time or interest. Megan had intuitively known there was more to Jenny’s story, but she’d also known Jenny wasn’t going to talk about things until she was ready. For the moment, Megan was just glad that circumstances had placed Jenny there to help out.
Once the post was locked down and no one without military ID was allowed in, Megan had persuaded Jenny to stay with her. Jenny lived alone with her father. With the phones out, no way existed of knowing whether her father was at home. Megan hadn’t wanted Jenny to leave until they could be sure she would be all right. For the moment, the city was no place for a girl alone.
Jenny had proven to be a godsend. She had a natural affinity for other teens, and she seemed able to handle any crisis that came along. Surprisingly, she knew a lot about cooking and cleaning that aided in supporting all the teens who filled the Gander household.
Several people had opened their doors to kids who were left without parents or guardians and didn’t want to stay at home alone. At present, the Gander house was full nearly to bursting, but even in the packed home Megan still felt the absence of Chris, Joey, and Goose.
“Are you all right?” Jenny asked. Voices sounded in the background.
“I’m fine,” Megan answered. She tried to make sure her voice sounded confident.
Jenny hesitated. “I didn’t know if the cell phone was working. When I couldn’t reach you at the office, I thought I’d give it a try.”
“I’m glad you did. I hadn’t even thought of trying to use it. We’ll need to call around to the people helping us and let them know the cells are up. At least for now.” One of the first things Megan had done when she organized the support teams for the teens and adults struggling to come to grips with what had happened was put together a phone tree with home, work, and cell phone numbers.
“I will,” Jenny promised. “First thing after I get off the phone with you.” The voices in the background sounded louder.
“Is everything okay there?” Megan asked. She suddenly realized that she should have called to let Jenny know she wasn’t going to be home anytime soon. Guilt assailed her. Somehow she couldn’t seem to do anything right.
“Everything here is chaotic,” Jenny assured her. “But we’re good. Nothing to worry about.”
The voices dimmed a little and Megan guessed from the steady hum of the washer on spin cycle that Jenny had stepped into the utility room. The washer and dryer ran constantly, struggling to keep up with the need for clean clothes for the teens.
“What you’re hearing,” Jenny went on, “are the sounds of a Monopoly game in the kitchen and a DVD audience in the living room.” She sighed. “There’s popcorn everywhere.”
“It’s okay,” Megan said. “It’ll clean.”
“I know. I’m not really worried about it. It’s just constant, you know. No matter what, nothing ever really seems to get done.”
The guilt Megan felt cut more deeply. She should have seen this coming. Jenny was hardly any older than most of the teens there. Helping out around the house was a tremendous responsibility for the young woman.
“When was the last time you were out of that house?” Megan asked.
“I haven’t been.”
“I’m sorry. I should have thought to relieve you.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“I know, but—”
“Megan, I called to see how you were,” Jenny interrupted politely. “I just heard about the girl who was shot.”
“Leslie,” Megan said automatically. “Leslie Hollister.” It seemed important that people know Leslie’s name. Megan didn’t want her—Leslie—to just be a statistic.
“How is she?”
Megan’s throat tightened, and she had to work to force the words out. “I don’t know. She’s in surgery. They’re supposed to let us know. I’m sorry. I should have called. I should have known you would hear about—about—” She couldn’t say “the shooting,” and anything in place of that term seemed too dismissive.
“Calling here would have been like the
