Michaelson. 'How'd it go in there today? What can you tell me now?'
'Sir, there's not a lot I can tell you now. Not if you're also a witness.'
'Okay. I understand that. Damned nuisance, but it's worth it to make sure Silver gets his.'
Paul launched into a general recital of the day's events, speaking carefully to ensure he didn't veer into specifics. When he reached Commander Destin's appearance as a witness, Paul felt an even greater reluctance to talk. How am I supposed to critically report on the performance of an officer senior to me? You don't do that. At least, you're not supposed to do that.
Hayes gave him another look. 'That's all you can tell me about Commander Destin's testimony? You pretty much just said she showed up.'
Paul felt sweat starting under his uniform. 'Sir, I'd be commenting on the behavior of a senior to another senior.'
'You would, wouldn't you?' Hayes looked forward for a moment, then nodded. 'Fair enough. Any idea what the defense is up to?'
'Commander Carr thinks they'll try to discredit the evidence.'
'That doesn't take a lawyer to figure out.'
'No, sir.'
'Any idea why that guy made me name you?'
'Not for sure, sir.'
'Keep your guard up.'
The Michaelson 's quarterdeck loomed ahead. Captain Hayes boarded the ship, returning the officer of the deck's salute as the petty officer of the watch struck the ship's bell four times in two pairs of bongs then announced over the all-hands circuit, 'USS Michaelson, arriving.'
Paul followed Hayes across the brow, saluting the officer of the deck. Ensign Gabriel returned the salute, along with a questioning look. 'Can you talk about it?'
'Yes and no.'
'Man, if you keep hanging out with lawyers we'll never get a straight answer out of you.'
Paul grinned. 'Ouch. That hurt.'
'Don't tell Lieutenant Shen about it, then. I hear she's fiercely protective.'
The joking statement aroused mixed emotions in Paul. On the one hand, I like knowing Jen'll defend me. But on the other, I can fight my own battles. 'Hey, I can be pretty fierce, too.'
Gabriel unsuccessfully tried to smother a laugh. 'Paul, I like working with you. I'm sure I'd like working for you. But not because you're fierce.'
'I'll take that as a compliment.' Paul waved farewell and headed for his stateroom. First I need to check what came in that I have to deal with, then I'll call Chief Imari for a rundown on how things are going on the ship. He turned a corner, squeezing around two sailors working on a piece of equipment that had been helpfully installed in an almost inaccessible spot, and found himself facing Commander Garcia at the other end of the passageway.
Commander Garcia's expression couldn't be made out for certain, but he hooked some fingers toward Paul in a 'come here' gesture. Oh, great. Now what? Chief Imari didn't give me a heads-up on any problems. 'Yes, sir?'
Garcia gave Paul one his usual demanding looks. 'You just get back?'
'Yes, sir.'
'How's it going over there, Sinclair?'
'You mean in the court, sir?'
'Yeah, I mean in the court. Does it look like he'll get convicted?'
Paul tried to think through his reply. Does Garcia like Silver? I don't remember Garcia ever talking about him. What answer does Garcia want? I can't even guess, and in any case what else can I tell him but the truth as I see it? 'I'm not sure, sir. The members of the court are hard to read. They've asked some questions that imply they're not happy with what they're hearing about Lieutenant Silver, but I can't tell if they're unhappy enough to vote for conviction on any of the charges.'
'What about Commander Herdez?'
'She looks like she always did, sir. Not missing a thing and keeping her thoughts to herself. I wouldn't want her judging me if I was Lieutenant Silver, though.'
'Neither would I. That prosecutor. How's she doing?'
'She's very good, sir.'
'Good.' Garcia seemed to be trying to decide whether or not to say more. 'Sinclair, I'm not happy you get involved in distractions like this. You're supposed to be working for me. But if Silver did even half of what he's charged with, then I'm damned glad he's off this ship. And I want him to pay for what he did to that chief. You and that prosecutor better make damned sure Silver doesn't come back. You understand?'
'We're doing our best, sir.'
'That better be good enough.' Garcia turned to go, then looked back for a moment. 'Thanks, Sinclair.'
'Yes, sir.' Paul, his mouth hanging open, watched Garcia walk away. The words 'thanks, Sinclair' were the closest Garcia had ever come to praising Paul's work.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Paul normally had about a day and a half's worth of work to do on any given day, so trying to get that all accomplished in a couple of hours made for an even more hectic pace than usual. Knock-off ship's work and then liberty call passed with Paul barely noticing. Jen came aboard to chat, saw how busy he was, and kept her visit very short, but also insisted on dragging him to the wardroom to for-God's- sake eat something for dinner. Paul eyed his meal dubiously, wondering if Suppo had somehow managed to slip another serving of Syrian beef stew past the Captain, but managed to eat some of it.
He did take time to walk Jen to the quarterdeck afterwards. 'See you tomorrow?'
'No can do. I've got duty. It looks like you won't be visiting me, either.'
'I think I can catch up. It sort of depends on what happens tomorrow.'
'My father's going to be there tomorrow?'
'Yeah. No doubt of that.'
'He respects it when you fight back, Paul.'
'I'm not going into battle, Jen.'
'Yes, you are. Be brave, my warrior.' She giggled again. 'I can't believe I'm joking about this.'
'Me, neither.'
'Oh, Paul, you'll comport yourself in the highest traditions of the Naval Service, yada, yada, yada.'
'Yada back to you. Good night, Jen.'
'I prefer saying that when we're sleeping in the same bed.' She looked carefully in all directions, then seeing no witnesses, leaned up and gave Paul a quick kiss. 'See you tomorrow, or the day after. Hang in there.'
'That I know I can do. Love you, Jen.'
'Ah, you say that to all your girlfriends.'
Paul watched her leave, then walked slowly back to his stateroom. Hang in there. I guess that's the secret of life. Only I won't settle for just hanging in there where Silver's concerned. Commander Carr is right. We've got to nail him. After Paul finally got to bed, he spent a long time twisting and turning restlessly, his mind filled with questions about what Commander Jones might do in defense of Silver.
Chapter Twelve
'The defense calls as its first witness Captain Kay Shen, United States Navy, commanding officer of the USS Mahan.' Captain Shen marched to the witness stand and took the seat as if he were striding to the captain's chair on the bridge of his ship. He glanced at the members' table, nodded very slightly toward Captain Mashiko, then looked straight ahead. If he took notice of Paul's presence in the courtroom, he didn't acknowledge it in any way.
Lieutenant Commander Jones adopted a similar rigidly correct stance as he stood before Captain Shen,
