Soldier of Fortune: Gideon Quinn Adventures Book One

Chapter 50

"I beg your pardon?" Gideon asked in a voice that said, quite clearly, You're smogging kidding me, right?

"Hear me out." The general held up a hand to forestall the inevitable protest. "The war is over," she explained, "and for the most part in our favor. But what would happen to what is, in fact, a very delicate peace, if it became known a Coalition agent had not only been siphoning intelligence from under the Corps' nose for at least twelve years, but was still doing so? The public wouldn't stand for it. They would demand action—sanctions at best, and renewed conflict at the worst."

"I'm not a fan of going back to war," Gideon said, "but do we really want to negotiate with a power that, by their own spy's admission, doesn't think the war is really over?"

"No, we don't." Her admission was rueful. "But even less do we want to risk a renewal of hostilities. We can't," she said, her voice dropping lower, "because if we go back to the field against the Coalition states at our current strength, we will lose. The victories at Allianz and Santander were far from decisive, and both cost us dearly. The best that can be said is that both battles led the Coalition to believe we were in better shape than they, so they sued for peace."

Which was not what Gideon expected, or wanted, to hear. "What are the chances," he asked, "that Odile has already passed that information on?"

"It's not impossible, but—given the very small circle of individuals aware of the gravity of the situation—the thinking is, that if the enemy knew, they'd have taken action by now."

Gideon nodded, though it all felt a little optimistic. "We were really losing?"

"One more major engagement—two at the most—and the Eastern colonies would have begun to fall like dominoes."

"And what about them?" Gideon nodded to where DS Hama and Mia were rolling his cycle to a stop under the pier's lamp.

"They weren't privy to Odile's confession and only know what I shared, which isn't much."

Somehow, Gideon doubted it'd be that simple. "So, if I can't talk about Odile, what are we saying happened at Nasa?"

The relief on her face was unnerving, and made Gideon realize how very precarious the United Colonies' position must be.

"It was a crime of passion," she said. "Celia Rand, in revenge for your refusal of her advances, misled her husband into believing you had assaulted her, leading to his actions at Nasa. Tawdry, I'll admit, but close enough to the truth that we should be able to make it fly."

"Make it fly?" Gideon said. "Twenty starbucks say it'll be on the center stage at the Circus inside the week."

"I don't believe I will take that bet," she said with a small smile, which quickly disappeared as she asked, "And will you do it? Will you keep this secret? I can't say the Corps deserves your silence, but—"

"I won't tell," he said, cutting her off. "Anyway, I'm not sure my truth is any more plausible than your fiction."

Her smile returned and, as one, they turned towards the dock and started walking. "At least you'll have your freedom, and your reputation."

But not those six years, he thought. And those five soldiers are still dead.

He didn't let himself think of Dani.

"You also have your rank," Satsuke was saying, "if you want it. The Corps still needs people who think... differently."

By now they were at the landward end of the pier. On the dock to Gideon's left waited Mia, with DS Hama, and to his right, the general's staff car.