Damage Control (Valiant Knox) (13 page)

Leigh moved from behind her to lean against the bulkhead, arms crossed but appearing alert, even though she’d told him there was no one else down here. Maybe that was part of what made him so good at what he did—he was always ready for action, no matter the circumstances.

It didn’t take long to run a diagnostic. The tampering definitely hadn’t been done from out here.

“This is a dead end,” she said, not quite able to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

“It was probably always a long shot.” Leigh didn’t sound too worried about the fact that she hadn’t found anything. “Did you still want to find the transit car the shooter got onto?”

“Already on it.” While she’d been checking the station, she’d also called down the exact transit car the shooter had used to escape.

After another few silent moments, the transit chimed and the doors opened, revealing a car that looked like every single other transit operating on the
Knox
. She switched the datapad connection over to the screen inside and stepped in, Leigh following behind her. As the doors closed, she ran a quick override command so that the car couldn’t go anywhere while she ran the checks.

“Is this going to take long?” Leigh asked, picking a new wall to lean against. “We’ve got to get back before the next session starts, and I heard they were serving burgers at messdeck today.”

“Depends on if I find anything,” she returned distractedly. Except her stomach pinched at the thought of a burger. Damn, she hadn’t been hungry until he’d mentioned food.

A slight anomaly popped out at her. If a transit failed to respond to a call-up, another one quickly took its place. But this packet of data was too big for a simple routine glitch.

“I think I found something.” She tried to keep the excitement out of her voice since this could still turn out to be nothing. But the fact that she might have a clue was just too damn exhilarating.

“What is it?” Leigh shifted closer, his chest brushing her shoulder as he leaned in to look down at the datapad. “All I see is a bunch of numbers and letters.”

The dismay in his voice would have been funny if she hadn’t been so hooked into unraveling this mystery.

“It’s system coding. If you know how to read it, this can tell you all sorts of things about how the
Knox
is running.”

“I’ll take your word on it,” he returned dryly, shifting back again.

She didn’t reply as she isolated the packet of data and begin extrapolating the information. However, the screen flickered, the various tabs scrambling together.

“Uh-oh.” The transit car shifted up with a sudden jolt and she threw a hand out to keep her balance.

“And I’m assuming
uh-oh
means—”

The lights cut out, the transit grinding to a halt and powering down with a lowering hum. The blue-white glow of the datapad screen didn’t go very far in the pitch-blackness, and she glanced up at Leigh.

“That’s what uh-oh means.”

His expression was exasperated as he glanced around the darkened space, not looking the least bit worried about the fact they were trapped in a powered-off transit car and nobody knew they were down here.

“Crap,” she muttered, stepping over to the screen next to the doors. She pressed the emergency call icon on the otherwise blank screen but, of course, nothing happened.

Leigh moved over next to her. “How long will it take you to get this transit back online? We’ve only got forty minutes until the next session starts.”

She glanced down at the datapad in her hand. “I don’t know if I can, not from in here any way.”

“Okay, so we’ll put a call out for someone to come and get us.” He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his comm.

“That won’t work.”

“Why not?” He tapped at the screen, adding an extra glow to the darkness.

“Because comm and datapad signals are usually routed through the transit screen during a trip. There’s no signal getting in here.” Somehow, she had to find a way to reboot the system, which was next to impossible with the transit car powered off and no access to the outside.

He frowned, beginning to look a little unimpressed. “Then what usually happens when people get stuck in a transit car? Everyone knows it happens every now and then.”

Frustration and apprehension had started chipping away at her calm, making it harder to keep her thoughts straight, to find an answer to this problem.

“Usually people get stuck from anomalies or malfunctions that stall the system. The transit cars never power down like this. Plus an alert will be sent to the central maintenance station.”

Leigh slipped his comm away again. “So someone will know the transit car is stuck. Can we get out before they send a team down to check it out?”

She lowered the datapad and spun to face him. “Weren’t you listening? I said I don’t know if I can get us out at all, let alone before the maintenance crew turns up.”

Leigh reached up and set his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t freak out, Mia. Just stay calm, we’ll work something out.”

“I’m not freaking out.” Though, really, she kind of was considering that her screwing around with the system might have got them trapped in here indefinitely. So she forced a slow breath to fill her lungs. “Sorry. It’s just dark in here and with the power off, I’m not sure if we’re getting a fresh oxygen supply. Plus if a team of maintenance officers find us in here, how are we going to explain that?”

Leigh didn’t look the least bit ruffled, either about their possible lack of air or them getting caught. “We’ll just tell them we were heading from squad level down to messdeck when the transit malfunctioned and we didn’t even know we’d ended up down in the utility levels.”

Some of the tension leeched out of her at his totally logical reasoning. “Oh, that makes sense.”

“Yeah, it does. Now, before you do anything else, how about you work out whether or not we’re going to be able to keep breathing?”

She nodded, lowering her head to turn her attention back to the datapad. He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly, then let his hands slip down her arms as he stepped back.

Putting all other thoughts out of her mind, she tried to revive the connection with the transit car screen, not aware of time passing. Except after a little while, her legs started aching from standing in the same spot. Glancing up, she found Leigh had sat down on the floor, his long legs stretched out in front of him, one boot kicked over the other and hands clasped over his stomach.

With a sigh, she joined him on the floor, crossing her legs and setting the datapad on her knee while she stretched her fingers.

“How is it looking?”

She picked up the datapad again, checking the progress of the latest connection route she’d run. “Ask me something else.”

“Will you have us out of here in the next ten minutes before the afternoon session starts?”

She sent him an annoyed look. “That’s not helpful.”

“Sorry.” The expression on his face didn’t appear at all repentant, despite his apology.

Above them, the lights came on to half strength, while a whoosh of fresh air cycled down.

Leigh straightened from where he’d been slouched against the bulkhead. “Have you done it?”

She shook her head, chewing on her thumbnail as she started a secondary program. “No, I got basic power up, but the main controls are still offline.”

“You’ll figure it out, Mia.” The quiet confidence in his words had the opposite effect from what he’d probably intended, bringing the panic up again.

“But what if I can’t? What if we’re stuck here for hours—”

He reached up and cupped a hand over her collarbone, at the base of her neck, effectively cutting off the trepidation spinning through her.

“If you can’t get us out, it doesn’t matter. Eventually the maintenance crew will find us, especially once the next session starts and people notice we’re missing. And before you can start worrying about it again, no one will have any reason to question us when we tell them we got on at squad level and the transit car malfunctioned.”

“I’m sorry.” The words just kind of blurted out, even though she had no idea what she was apologizing for.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, except maybe my empty stomach.” He sent her a half grin, letting her know he wasn’t really put out by this situation. Amazing. Even in a situation like this, one that most people would be angry, frustrated, or anxious about, he was as calm as ever. It forced her to reassess her own nerves and keep her composure. “Is there anything else you can try?”

“I am running another diagnostic program that will hopefully restore the full connection. But it could take a few minutes, or it could take an hour.”

“Since you got half the lights back on and the airflow going again, we’re not in any immediate danger. So why don’t you put the datapad down and take a quick break? Maybe the answer will come to you if you’re not stressing so much.”

With a sigh, she set the datapad down on the floor, despite her brain telling her she had to keep working the problem until she found a solution. She leaned back against the wall and Leigh shifted to sit next to her, their shoulders not quite touching.

“There. Is that better?”

“No,” she replied grumpily, but then immediately realized how ridiculous that sounded. She glanced up at Leigh to see an amused glint in his eyes and couldn’t help breaking into a laugh, relieving some of the tension within her. “Clearly I’m not the best person to be stuck in a transit with.”

“Truthfully, I could think of worse people to be stuck in here with.”

Maybe his statement had meant to be flippant, but somehow it ended up creating a different sort of tension in the air between them. Just the same way things had gone before she’d given into the stupid impulse to kiss him yesterday afternoon.

Like then, all rational thought was quickly evaporating from her mind as she stared up at him, tempting her toward things she shouldn’t want. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t slip up like that again. But sitting here, closed in the transit, the lighting dim above them, no one aware they were down here together, it became harder by the second to stick to her resolve to stay detached from him.

Though she’d mostly put the kiss out of her thoughts straight after it had happened and had kept herself busy since, now it was all she could think of. And she couldn’t see him as her CO anymore, couldn’t see a man who should be forbidden to her. All she could see was his gray-blue eyes, lit with an intensity that sent an answering warmth swelling within her.

Chapter Thirteen

L
eigh forced a slow breath on himself, hanging onto the threads of his tenuous control with every last shred of determination he possessed. Maybe he should reassess his last statement—Mia was the worst possible person he could have gotten trapped in a transit with. Especially considering the way she was looking at him right now, a definite gleam of desire mixed with a hint of curiosity, like maybe she was wondering exactly what it would be like if they shared more than just a brief kiss.

He’d been absolutely adamant yesterday that despite the fact they’d be working in close quarters while uncovering the mole in the squadron, nothing more personal would develop between them. But apparently he wasn’t as strong as he’d thought and that resolve had failed in less than twenty-four hours, because
goddamn
did he want to kiss her again. Not just for a stolen, rushed moment like yesterday afternoon. He wanted to
devour
her. And take his time doing it.

“Mia—” he started, but had no idea what he wanted to tell her. It should have been something along the lines of all the reasons why they couldn’t, because apparently he at least needed a reminder. But the words got lost in translation somewhere between his brain and his mouth.

She tilted her head, and he could all but see her mind working behind those expressive dark eyes. Maybe he didn’t know her that well, but he got the feeling she never did anything without considering every angle first. Right now, she was definitely turning something over in her mind, something he probably didn’t want to know about if they were going to get out of this transit without crossing a big fat line or two.

Shifting onto her knees, she got closer to him, that damn inquisitive glint in her gaze almost his undoing. He set his palms flat against the cool floor, the only way to stop himself from reaching out and yanking her against him.

But if she could see the struggle going on within him, she seemingly wasn’t going to give him any quarter. She leaned in, and the next breath he took was nothing but her and that nutty-vanilla scent she favored. On her hair or skin, he couldn’t tell, but whatever it was, it’d started driving him crazy, so damn mouthwatering—

Her lips touched his, the contact almost featherlight, but it echoed through his entire body. His hands contracted into fists against the floor, every muscle catching fire with an intensity that left him fighting for air.

She increased the pressure of her mouth, her hand coming up to cup his jaw. It was too much, so far past the line. But hell, it wasn’t anywhere near what he wanted. He brought a hand up, only as far as her lower back, and pressed her closer, even as he deepened the kiss, maybe taking a little more than what she’d initially offered. But God, she had him so wound up. If anything, he’d only encouraged her into further recklessness as she knelt up and hooked a leg over his, then settled in his lap.

Oh yeah, that was a problem. And somehow his hands had ended up on her ass. Hell, he was so screwed. But he didn’t care, not when she was all over him like nobody’s business.

The transit jolted and Mia gasped, breaking the kiss, but grabbed onto his shoulders. The lights flickered again, but then returned to full strength. Leaning over, Mia retrieved the datapad where she’d left it on the floor.

“I’ve got a connection, but the control files are all screwed up. There are entire packets of data missing.”

“What does that mean?” He shifted his hands to her hips, which was probably only marginally better than having them on her ass. He probably should take his hands off her altogether, but since she was still sitting on top of him, he was just going to go with it.

“It means some of the control icons either won’t work, or they’ll do something completely different. So if you put in one destination, you might end up somewhere else. Or trying to open the doors might make the lights go out again.”

“But despite that, you can get us out of here?”

“It’s more likely now, yes.” She slipped off his lap, attention riveted on the screen of the datapad.

Leigh stood, taking a moment to adjust his pants since he had some swelling issues that had left him more than a little uncomfortable. He went over to the screen of the transit.

“Don’t even think about touching that screen,” Mia said as she stood. “It’ll just confuse things that are already messed as hell.”

He fought a grin at her ordering him around, but she didn’t notice. The doors clunked, and he glanced over to see them start to open, only to slam shut again. But from the glimpse of outside he’d gotten, it looked like they were just beneath a floor.

“Can you get the transit to move, Mia? We’re just below the lowest apartment level. At least that’s what it looked like.”

She shook her head. “I tried that first, but it doesn’t seem like this thing is going anywhere. If I can get the doors to stay open, do you think we can climb out?”

He hadn’t gotten a clear enough look, but between the two of them, he didn’t see any reason why not. “Sure. Get the doors open and I’ll give you a boost.”

The doors clunked two more times before opening and stopping halfway. There was only just enough room for him to get his shoulders in.

“I think that’s the best I can do.” She glanced upward, brow creased as though she really wasn’t impressed with her own effort.

“Come on then. If we hurry, we might make the beginning of the session before any of the recruits start wondering why the CAFF is so late for class.”

“And what about me?” she asked as she stepped closer.

“You’re going to arrive fifteen minutes late, and I’m going to dress you down in front of the entire class. I haven’t made anyone cry today. Maybe you could shed a few tears.”

She glared at him as he bent his knees, bringing him down to her level and then linking his fingers palms-up to provide her a foothold.

“You know, I’m starting to think this situation is much more beneficial to you than me.” She set a foot in his hands and hoisted herself up, catching the edge of the floor above them.

As she pulled up, he gave her a push, helping her scramble out. Once she’d cleared the opening, he backed up as far as he could, then took a run up at the door and leaped at the last second. He only just managed to grab the lip, but it was enough. He took a moment, drawing in a breath before tensing his muscles and hauling his body weight up to get his forearms on the edge of the floor. After that, it was easier to heave himself the rest of the way up.

He took a second to catch his breath and then stood. “Guess I won’t need to go to the gym today after that little acrobatic routine.”

But Mia wasn’t paying him any attention, instead staring down the passageway. “I think someone’s coming.”

He glanced over his shoulder, and sure enough, could hear voices somewhere farther down the hallway. “Come on, there’s another transit on the starboard side of this level.”

She nodded, setting off in the opposite direction. He checked his watch to find the afternoon session had started exactly three and a half minutes ago. He’d never been late to a single session or meeting in his life. Hopefully Bren wouldn’t question him too closely about it, despite the fact it was so far out of character for him. In the past few days, he’d come to realize there was a lot of truth in the old saying “first time for everything.”

T
he following evening, Leigh stepped through the doorway into Harley’s, the bar on commerce level favored by most of the military staff for after-shift drinks. When he’d first earned his wings, he’d spent a fair bit of time here with his fellow pilots, blowing off steam and generally having a good time. But in the last few years, since becoming the CAFF, the occasional after-shift tradition had become less and less frequent.

Truthfully, considering the day he’d had—no make that the
week
he’d had—he could definitely use an hour or two in this bar tonight taking the edge off. He’d just never expected the invitation to do so would come from Commander Yang.

As he let the low lights, raucous conversations, and underlying, near indiscernible rhythm of a song he couldn’t identify wash over him, he forced some of the tension from his shoulders. He felt like he’d been walking around with a bowstring yanking his neck and shoulder blades tight ever since he’d escorted the damaged troop transport onto the
Knox’s
deck a week ago.

But sneaking around with Mia and getting stuck in that damn transit yesterday had really jacked him up. Admittedly, he’d had no patience to deal with the recruits today, not when the need to find the traitor was slowly but effectively eating away at his control. And riding him even worse had been the fact that he’d gotten Mia involved in this situation as well. She’d fallen a little behind in class and was clearly tired. He should never have pressured her to participate, putting her spot in the FP program in jeopardy, but he’d seen an opportunity and taken it, ignoring the risk of collateral damage. Now they were too far in. If the traitor didn’t already know they were after him, he might soon figure it out. The only way to keep Mia safe was to let her work up those profiles and find the mole.

He scanned the shifting crowd, finding Yang sitting in a far booth across from another man. As he got closer and found a clear view, he recognized Cam slouching in the opposite corner.

He slid in next to the colonel, where they’d already ordered him a beer.

“Seriously, McAllister, if you love being on the
Knox
so much, why don’t you just ask Yang to find you a posting?” He slid the beer a short way across the table toward himself, using a napkin to wipe at some of the condensation before he picked it up and took a long swallow.

Cam sent him a flat look. “Like I told you, I prefer to keep my boots firmly planted in the dirt. Though, I have to admit, you guys have better beer up here.”

He saluted with his half-empty glass, then took a gulp.

“So is that your reason for this visit, our superior beverages?”

Cam nodded toward the commander. “Yang got me back up here, ask him.”

He glanced over at the CO, who was nursing his own glass, looking like he’d taken less than a sip of the beer.

“There are things I wanted to discuss with the two of you.”

“And it couldn’t be done in your wardroom during office hours?” He took another quick sip of beer, the ice-cold bitter beverage going down smooth. He’d definitely need a second pretty soon. “Not that I’m really complaining about the venue choice.”

An annoyed expression flitted across Yang’s face. “No actually, it couldn’t be discussed in my wardroom, not unless we wanted every word recorded and analyzed by Lieutenant Caleb Prescott.”

“The guy they sent to review your command?” he asked as Cam muttered a few choice insults.

Yang nodded. “He’s being very thorough, I’ll give him that.”

“Its just more bureaucratic bullshit,” Cam put in. “They’re not going to pull the deck from under you, not without some serious backlash. You’re a war hero, people aren’t going to like hearing they gave you back command of the
Knox
, only to change their minds.”

Yang glanced down at his glass, his expression mostly blank, but Leigh caught the shadows of doubt in the CO’s gaze.

“We’re not here to talk about that.” Yang focused on them, features now set into stern lines. “I want to keep you both in the loop about the CSS infiltrations. You two are the only ones I fully trust right now—my direct link to what’s going on in the ranks. I need full disclosure, no matter if you think your suspicions might be groundless, or that the truth might be worse when it’s revealed. The whole thing is obviously bigger than just the
Knox
, but this ship and the people on it are my first priority. No matter what UEF or CI mechanisms might be going on around us, my only concern is the welfare of those who serve under my command.”

A smolder in Leigh’s chest blazed with every breath he took over the secrets he held. For the first time in his entire career, his loyalties tore him in two different directions: protect Mia or offer the full disclosure Commander Yang expected and deserved.

The only thing that kept him from blurting out the truth was that coming clean would give Yang one more complication to bear on his already strained shoulders.

“Have there been further developments from Stanton?” His voice came out a little rough, so he took another swallow from his beer to wash down the remaining tension.

“Stanton hides as much as he reveals. I’m not sure he’s telling me anything of real value, anything that can really help us. He sent me a dossier of information, most of it pertaining to things I’d missed in the past year and a half as a POW. Things like the Pontifex becoming increasingly reclusive. In fact, he hasn’t been seen in public for several months.”

The Pontifex was the man who acted as a figurehead to the CSS. Everyone knew him. Ronald Martin, once UEF Governor of the Brannon System until he’d declared the three planets under his jurisdiction a sovereign state and made himself Pontifex—religious leader of the CSS—which started the war that had spanned two decades.

“Well, he had to slow down eventually. The guy must be in his seventies by now.” Leigh couldn’t remember clearly.

“Sixty-eight, according to the intelligence report Stanton gave me,” Yang answered.

“Anything else?” Cam finished his beer and set the empty glass down, then tapped on the screen inset in the tabletop to order another.

Yang shook his head, expression annoyed. “Nothing. A lot of the reports are contradictory, so it’s hard to know what’s factual and what’s misinformation.”

“How so?” The tension crept back into his neck, brought on by the fact that this subterfuge stuff was beyond his patience. Give him an enemy to face in the open, something to aim his jet at. Sneaking around for crumbs of information in the shadowy corners of this war wasn’t his thing.

“Like despite the fact that the CSS are seemingly ramping up the scale and intensity of their attacks, they’re running out of skilled pilots and experienced soldiers.”

“This war could have been over with in a matter of months if we’d gone in hard from the first,” Cam muttered.