From last time:
The general rushed through the camp at a brisk jog, shouting orders to his subordinates, and demanding status checks. All around him, his officers had taken responsibility for surveying the damage and triaging the wounded. Ultrawoman headed directly toward the spot where the wounded were being gathered and tended to by the peacekeepers’ medical staff. The most seriously wounded were prepared to be airlifted to hospitals in neighboring countries that had been put on alert. Lois made several trips, ferrying the injured to more advanced medical facilities. Eventually, once the last of the critically wounded was taken care of, she returned to the base and sought out the general.
He paced restlessly in the compound, taking in the extent of the damage, but he stopped and looked up as she approached. “I can’t thank you enough for rescuing my men,” he said, squinting and shielding his eyes from the sunlight. “A daytime raid on our base of operations, the rebels are getting even more daring.”
“I’m just glad I was in the area,” Lois replied.
“It’s that damn radio broadcast,” Rapin spat. “Twenty four hours a day of hate speech and incitement to terror and warfare. They’re probably using it now to regroup. And yet, the Directorate of Peacekeeping Operations won’t let me shut it down.”
Ultrawoman folded her arms across her chest. “Do you know where the signals are being transmitted from?”
The general gave her a terse nod and gestured for her to follow him to his office. On his desk, he spread out a map of the river basin and jungles. Little colored markers dotted the map. “These are the radio towers the rebels are using to broadcast their message. Destroy them and the rebels’ means of communication and organization are destroyed.”
********
New stuff:
“It seems like things are going well. Like there might be peace,” Lok Sim said hopefully. He looked up from the communications equipment he was dismantling. It was late, but the negotiations had seemed productive.
Captain Enza gave him a weary smile. “There are no castles among the stars yet, but peace with the Belaar might still be possible,” she replied, repeating a common Kryptonian aphorism.
“No cities carved in mountains? No alabaster towers jutting out against vermillion skies?” he asked, completing the description from the ancient fable.
“The story of Revan and Sirin?” she asked. He nodded. “You must have paid more attention to your studies than most.”
“’The Unification of the Seventeen Tribes’ was always my favorite,” he said. He finished packing up the equipment and sat down across from her at the table in the otherwise empty room.
“I don’t think I’ve heard the story since I was a child. Do you still remember it?”
“By heart,” he replied.
“Tell it to me.” Her expression was guarded, but the slightest hint of a smile played at her lips.
He smiled and began to recite the poem. The Tale of Revan and Sirin was the first of the stories of the unifications of the tribes of Krypton and the oldest known fable among their people. He closed his eyes as the lines returned to him. Picking up the rhyme and meter of the poem, he retold the story of Sirin, the daughter of a powerful king. The king’s land and his people were under attack by raiders. The king died in the defense of his city, leaving his daughter to lead their people.
For days, the city held out, but its soldiers were weary, its defenses were weakening, and its supplies were running out. On the fourth night, a column of soldiers appeared at the top of the distant hills, led by Prince Revan, heir to distant, friendly kingdom, coming to the city’s aide. When the fighting ended, the city had been all but burned to the ground, but the invaders were defeated.
Revan was instantly taken by the princess, draped in shrouds of mourning for her deceased father. For weeks, Revan and his men remained to stand watch and protect Sirin and her people. And each day, Revan fell deeper in love with her. With time, it became clear that the city itself could not be salvaged. The population would need to be relocated somewhere safer and more easily defended. Revan finally professed his love, but Sirin was still deep in mourning and focused only on protecting her people.
A messenger came to call Revan home. Months passed without word. Revan’s men, however, remained to protect Sirin’s people, proving that even if his love was fleeting, his friendship was steadfast. When all hope and expectation of his return was gone, that was when he reappeared. Without explanation, he asked Sirin to go with him. They made the long journey to Revan’s city, lodged deep in the mountains.
“I wanted to show you this,” he announced as he brought her to the edge of the city, where builders were carving a city in the side of the mountain. Revan explained that his city was too small to absorb all of Sirin’s people, and there was no room to build, except in the side of the mountain, so that is what he did.
“I will carve you a city in the mountains, with alabaster towers jutting out against the vermillion sky. I will build you bridges over oceans so there is nowhere you cannot go. And I will build you castles among the stars, so that even if the ground beneath us falls away, you will still have a home.”
“It’s ironic, don’t you think?” Enza asked. “All this talk about castles among the stars, in case the ground of Krypton fell away.”
“It is,” he agreed. “But maybe that’s what we’re supposed to be doing. The first ships sent to New Krypton to bring supplies and materiel were called Revan Class Ships. The ships that brought the colonists here…”
“Were Sirin Class,” Enza finished. “It’s a beautiful poem.”
“I’ve always been fond of it.”
“I should remember to tell it to Thia,” the Captain replied. “I’m sure she’ll enjoy hearing about a brave princess who protects her people with the help of a gallant prince.”
“Your niece seems like a wonderful child.”
“She is,” Enza agreed. “She is very bright; I forget at times how young she is. How much she doesn’t understand, how much she shouldn’t have to understand.”
********
Ultrawoman landed outside the Canadian Consulate and immediately started up the brownstone’s steps, silently fuming. The reports had just hit the evening news and for the first time in her life, Lois hated the press. She’d had no time for the spin and the faux outrage of minor diplomats and talking heads. Ultrawoman had turned half of the Lake Regina Valley into a radio dead zone and her only regret was having not done it earlier. She strode into the lobby of the consular office and was immediately intercepted by a pleasant looking middle aged woman.
“Ultrawoman, Ambassador Dalton is expecting you,” the woman explained as she gestured toward the heavy oak double doors at the end of the hallway. Lois entered the room, barely giving the ambassador enough time to register her presence before she launched into the defense no one had cared to hear before taking the story to press. He stood up, but she skipped over the pleasantries entirely.
“Every attack on innocent people in Kinwara and on your own country’s peacekeepers was launched using that radio system. Leaving it intact was the stupidest thing the UN has done in years and I certainly wasn’t going to wait for permission before destroying it.”
Off Ambassador Dalton’s bemused smile, she stopped pacing, having just realized that she’d been circling like a caged tiger.
“Are you under the impression that I’m angry about what you did?” the white haired diplomat asked, still grinning. “I asked you to stop by so that I could thank you. As you already know, the Canadian contingent is the largest in the peacekeeping force, so we have a particular interest in this mission. You saved the lives of at least forty of my countrymen today by fighting off that ambush, and no doubt many more in the future by destroying the radio system.”
“Oh. I’m sorry,” Lois replied sheepishly and entirely unheroically. She hoped the mask obscuring her face was also concealing the red that was doubtlessly creeping into her complexion.
“I also wanted to give you a bit of advice. Next time you decide to do something…decisive, a courtesy call would be helpful. That way I can make a statement to the press before the story spirals out of control.”
“Thank you,” Lois replied, slightly off balance. She’d come in spoiling for a fight, only to realize that she’d finally found an ally. Funny, how she’d wasted all the diplomatic politeness she possessed on people who clearly weren’t going to listen.
“Now,” he said as he buttoned up his suit jacket. “I’m going to explain to the Secretary-General that this operation was planned and approved by the Canadian government and General Rapin, if you don’t mind?”
“Thank you,” Lois repeated.
Ambassador Dalton escorted Ultrawoman to the door. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to help General Rapin, he’s an old friend of mine. And, of course, the Canadian government is grateful for your protection of our forces. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help support your work over there.”
********
Picking up her sleeping toddler from where he lay on the couch, Lois carried him gently upstairs to the nursery. As always, he’d come bounding toward her, smiling and laughing with delight, as she walked into the house that evening. The weight of an impossibly long and trying day seemed to disappear from her heart as she effortlessly lifted her little boy into her arms.
Snapping at the Canadian Ambassador had proven beyond any doubt that she was losing her focus. She needed to get some sleep. She tried to do the bulk of her patrols in Kinwara while Jon was sleeping, but she couldn’t set too rigid a schedule without the rebels figuring it out and exploiting it. She wrote from home and tried to spend as much time with her son as possible. Even when she was exhausted, there was really no contest between playing with Jon and trying to sleep.
But now, it had been weeks since she’d had a decent night’s rest. She wasn’t sure she could quiet her troubled mind long enough to sleep, but she couldn’t keep up the pace she’d set any longer. For long moments, she stood in the doorway to Jon’s room and watched her son sleep. He was so little, so helpless. Like the two children she’d rescued earlier that day. She didn’t doubt that motherhood had radically changed the way she approached being Ultrawoman. Having a child made her understand the primitive instinct to protect more acutely. She knew that no parent should ever have to lose a child and she was determined to do whatever she could to prevent it from happening. But even she had limits and she was rapidly approaching them. Wearily, she walked down the hallway to Clark’s room.
She got ready for bed, her body going through the motions mechanically, but her mind a million miles away. She stood beside the open window; a slight breeze of warm air rustled the curtains. With ease, she found Clark’s star in the summer sky. It had been over two years ago, now. “I wish you were here,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to do this.”
********
Commander Ching opened the door and exited the meeting room. The rest of his team stood waiting in the hallway, where they’d been for the previous three hours. A slight smile cracked the senior officer’s expression. “It is done,” he said at last. “There is peace with the Belaar.”
The negotiating team breathed out a collective sigh of relief. “That is wonderful news, sir,” Enza said.
“Great work everyone,” Ching replied loudly. “You can all finally get some rest.” Ching pulled Enza away after he finished making his announcement. “Commander Talan will be arriving in the morning to begin the process of reintegrating the military,” he explained. “She asked that you remain here as the field legal advisor.”
“But certainly there is someone more qualified…” Enza began, not even bothering to hide the anxiousness in her voice. She’d been away from her niece for far too long already. She had no desire to turn this into a protracted stay.
“Her instructions were explicit. She wants you,” Ching replied succinctly. “If you need me to make any arrangements for your niece, I am more than happy to do so.”
“No, it’s all right, but thank you,” Enza said. Commander Ching merely nodded in response before retreating toward the barracks. Enza turned to find Lok Sim waiting for her in the background. He smiled somewhat nervously at her as they made eye contact.
“Congratulations,” he said.
“I can scarcely take any of the credit,” she replied. “But thank you. Sergeant, can you establish a communication link to the main colony for me?”
“Certainly, ma’am. Do you need a secure line?”
“No, I just want to talk to Thia.”
He smiled warmly. “Of course.”
********
She felt sleep recede from her gradually as consciousness lazily drifted in. She became aware of the soft gray light in the room, the warm sheets against her skin, and the sounds of life filtering up from the rest of the farmhouse. She reached for the alarm clock on the nightstand and sat bolt upright as she realized it was past nine in the morning. The alarm had been turned off and the shades had been drawn. Lois showered and dressed in a frantic blur. Just as she was finishing getting ready, there was a quiet knock at the door.
“Lois?” came Martha’s voice in a soft whisper.
Lois practically wrenched the door open. “I slept in. I must have forgotten to set the alarm,” she exclaimed.
“Honey, I turned the alarm off,” Martha confessed. “You just seemed so tired. And I checked your schedule, you’re not supposed to be anywhere until two this afternoon. I hope you’re not upset.”
“I should be patrolling,” Lois replied anxiously. “It’s been more than twelve hours since my last patrol.”
“Lois, you need to slow down.” Her mother-in-law’s tone was gentle, but surprisingly firm. “You’ve been working around the clock and you’re exhausted.”
“Martha, I can’t…” Lois began, but the older woman remained steadfast in the doorway and Lois wasn’t quite at the point where she was considering bolting out the window.
“Take the morning off. Spend some time with Jon. The HIRC, whatever that is, can wait.”
“House International Relations Committee,” Lois replied somewhat absently. She realized that her mind was full of stupid, bureaucratic acronyms and appointments with deaf ears.
“Oh, well, they can still wait.”
Lois was about to protest, but found that she couldn’t. Was she really putting a meeting with a bunch of congressmen she didn’t even like very much above her son? She felt her jaw drop. “Oh god, I’m a terrible mother, aren’t I?”
“You are a wonderful mother,” Martha countered. “But you’re going to run yourself into the ground if you keep this up. I’ve had a super powered son for over thirty years now, and I know that even he needs a break every now and then.”
The both fell silent for a long moment. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” Lois confessed at last. “I can’t keep anything straight. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next. I can’t even keep track of who I’m supposed to be mad at. I don’t understand how Clark did this. I can’t believe how much I took for granted the fact that he just always knew what to do and he did it,” she rambled nervously, the words tripping over her tongue like she couldn’t control them. They just fell, tumbling out in a barely intelligible mess. “And now I’m talking about him in the past tense like I’m not expecting him to come back and that’s not true, god, I’m sorry, Martha, I didn’t mean that. Oh, god, I didn’t mean that…” As she bit back the tears that stung her eyes, Lois felt her mother-in-law pull her into a hug.
“It’s okay,” Martha soothed. “I know. I do it too, sometimes.” Lois felt a twinge of relief, dulling the razor edge of her guilt, but even if Martha understood, how could she imagine that Clark would? How would he react to knowing that she’d let herself wonder what it would be like if he didn’t come back? That she’d contemplated, even for a split second, the possibility that he wasn’t going to keep his promise? But as time dragged on, his absence only grew more, not less, acute. She felt it more sharply and she let herself falter.
********
As on so many occasions in the past, Clark found himself watching the crews at the docking bays, loading transports and preparing for a mission. The soldiers seemed light hearted this evening; news of Ching’s success in the Belaar had spread quickly throughout the forces and several crews prepared for the arrival of the diplomatic shuttles.
It had been a calculated risk sending Ching back to the Belaar, given his history with the place. A charge of war crimes, even an unfounded one, was a damn difficult bell to un-ring. But Ching was their Chief of Staff and he’d been fully exonerated. Not sending him would have suggested that the First Ministers lacked confidence in him, or that Ching bore resentment and hostility toward the region. It seemed the gamble had paid off. Ching had lived up to his reputation as a top negotiator, and someone who could be trusted to take the fate of an entire world in his hands.
Now, the practical work of implementing the fragile peace Ching had won lay in front of them. Talan had again been called in to lead their efforts. Clark wasn’t exactly sure how one went about fixing an army that had been rend in two, especially when loyalties had been so badly divided and mistrust ran deep. They were laying an enormous responsibility on the General Commander’s shoulders, without much thought to whether the task was even possible, probably because she accomplished the impossible as a matter of course.
In her typical long, efficient strides, she approached the docking bay, her gear bag slung over her shoulder. She stopped and saluted crisply in front of Clark. “Good tidings, sir,” she said.
“Good tidings, Commander. Zara and I wish you the best on your mission.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied with a slight bow. She paused for a moment. “If you ever wish to talk, or if there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to call me.”
“Thank you,” Clark said sincerely. “I owe you a lot.”
“I am only doing my duty, sir,” she said quietly.
He shook his head. “You’ve been a better friend than I could have asked for.” He straightened himself to his full height. “May fortune be with you,” he said formally, repeating the standard Kryptonian farewell.
“And with you, sir,” she replied with a barely perceptible nod.
********
Talan stepped off the transport and onto the soft soil of the Belaar Valley. Troops stood at attention in two perfect lines, one on either side of her ship’s doors. She walked past them and into the barracks recently vacated by Ching’s negotiating team. As she’d requested, the area’s military commanders and Captain Enza had assembled for a briefing. There was no point in wasting any time.
The officers stood as she entered the conference room. She invited them to take their seats and began the briefing. “Commanders, I have no intention of interfering with your day to day control over your forces, but we must reintegrate the troops at every level of command. We will begin by running joint patrols and joint training exercises. Since I don’t expect this region to stay calm forever, I want all of the forces together to be retrained in the rules of engagement. I leave this task in Captain Enza’s hands.”
From the corner of her eye, she could see a look of surprise cross the captain’s face. “I believe that is all for now. Thank you.” The commanders stood and filed out of the room silently. “Captain, if I might have a moment?”
Enza stayed behind and stood silently in front of the conference room table. Talan stepped toward the junior officer. “The last year has seen a total breakdown in force discipline here. I will not put these troops in the field until I am certain they will conduct themselves honorably, that’s why I need you to train them.” A look of unease settled on the captain’s face. “You have concerns?”
Enza stared straight ahead as she spoke. “This training should be conducted by a command officer, not a captain, ma’am.”
“Everyone knows that you are the finest jurist of your generation. You graduated at the top of your class, you were apprenticed to the Chief Jurist himself. The First Minister could have selected any lawyer in the guild to serve as her legal advisor and she chose you. You are more than qualified for this task,” Talan replied.
“Commander, there are excellent reasons for requiring a senior officer to handle this responsibility. As chief legal officer, I will give you answers and directives you will not want to hear, and I will not change my recommendations based upon the commands of a superior.”
“I would not ask you to,” Talan responded. “I am no more above the law than you are. But unlike you, I am the law’s blind servant, I need a guide. The First Ministers have put their faith in you, I could do no less.”
“I apologize, ma’am,” Enza said, unblinking.
They were both silent for a long moment. The good officer that she was, Enza didn’t move or speak, waiting to be dismissed or given further orders. “You think me a monster, do you not?” Talan asked. “What I do is barbaric, and I am good at it. How can I be anything but?”
“I beg your pardon, ma’am, but you are wrong,” Enza replied, her face still expressionless. Talan had to admire the younger woman’s courage.
“Enlighten me, please.”
Enza seemed to hesitate. “I am not certain it is my place, ma’am.”
“You may speak freely.”
“With all due respect ma’am, and it is a great deal, it is not the fact that you are good at what you do that gives me pause. It is the fact that I have seen nothing else.” The captain swallowed hard before continuing. “The First Minister…she loves to fly. She requisitions an Interceptor and flies whenever she can. She has a feel for it, like the ship is part of who she is. Commander Ching remembers the name, rank, and date of death of every soldier under his command who has fallen in the field. My communications sergeant, who speaks so softly I can hardly hear him, recites epic poetry. Kal El helps my niece with her arithmetic whenever she asks, even though they both know that she understands it perfectly; just because she likes listening to him explain things. I trust these people because I see so much more than mere soldiers in them. I have seen what they love, what they fear, I know what they fight for and it is not bloodlust or a desire for glory or personal gain.” A thin sheen of sweat formed on Enza’s forehead.
“You and I are not that different, Captain,” Talan replied evenly. “We are both fighting for the same thing. We are fighting for a world governed by laws, not arms. A world governed by people like you. We are fighting to build a world that has no place in it for people like me.”
********
“We should have killed Ching when we had the chance,” Nor spat angrily. He paced in the crowded confines of his mother’s transport ship.
“He is even more of a problem than we anticipated,” his mother agreed. “We’ve lost an important staging ground for our advances.”
Nor spun on his heel and stopped. “What advances? We have been on the run for months.”
“And I suspect Talan will waste no time in using the Belaar to launch her offensives.”
Nor growled. “I hate that woman.”
“I know, my boy,” Rae Et replied in her affected impersonation of maternal soothing. Her thin face was pinched and drawn.
“So what do you suggest we do?”
“We keep our profile low; exploit the stresses and strains between uneasy allies, but no outright attacks.”
“More games,” Nor snapped.
********
Enza lay awake that night in her bunk, wondering about her niece. This deployment threatened to stretch out indefinitely and she’d already broken her promise that she’d be gone only a few days. Perhaps that was why she’d been so bold with the commander, allowing the other woman to see both her irritation and distrust. And now she had to wonder if that distrust wasn’t entirely misplaced. Enza had always been wary of the great and venerable Commander Talan for exactly the reasons she’d enumerated. To be fair, it seemed like no one knew what mattered to the commander or why she did what she did. From Enza’s perspective, the tales of Talan’s heroics and military conquests seemed like the sort of dangerous adventurism that got people needlessly killed while leaving the civilian settlements badly unprotected and vulnerable. But she had to admit; the commander didn’t seem to relish the fight and never asked anyone to do what she herself was not prepared to do.
So it appeared more and more likely that Enza had been wrong – that the commander wasn’t vainglorious or indifferent to the suffering of civilians. In fact, she seemed to wear her responsibilities as a heavy burden. She’d claimed, in a way, to be fighting for her own extinction – to eliminate the need for anyone to follow down her path, to do the things she’d done and make the choices she’d made. Enza had mistaken Talan’s decisive actions for false clarity of morals; assuming that the commander’s resolve meant that she thought she was always choosing right over wrong and not merely the lesser of two evils.
In her mind, the commander’s departing words repeated themselves. “You have a choice, Captain, to believe me or not. I know that nothing will prevent you from faithfully executing your duties, but I would much rather have my officers in the field trust their commanders.”
********
Ultrawoman descended down the steps of the Capitol building, drawing the curious stares of staffers and lobbyists. The congressmen and senators were usually too self absorbed to even notice the sartorially out of place superhero among the pinstripes crowd.
She had a meeting with the Security Council, where she was supposedly expected to explain herself. Lois was in no mood for it. Besides, if anyone owed an explanation, it was the Council. Leaving those communication towers intact was criminal.
“Ultrawoman!” someone shouted her name. She looked back up the stairs to see a slightly balding, trim man in a gray suit jogging toward her. She stopped, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for him to approach. The genial politician seemed a bit out of breath when he reached her. “I was hoping to catch you before you left.”
“What can I do for you, Congressman Pennybaker?”
“I didn’t know you recognized me,” the congressman said with a boyish grin.
“Well, you’re one of the few people I seem to have in my corner these days,” she replied.
“Everyone respects you; we just need to convince them that you’re right. The Kinwara Action Network is planning a rally on the Mall next month. We’d like you to speak.”
Ultrawoman opened her mouth to speak. Lois Lane had spoken on behalf of the group at several college campuses events, but this was another matter entirely. But it may have been exactly the chance she needed. “I’ll do it,” she replied.
********
“Try it now,” Luc said as he backed away from the jeep. Ingrid turned the engine, but the car only managed to sputter weakly. He wiped the grease from his hands on a rag before leaning back in under the jeep’s hood. Luc Arnault was an experienced trauma surgeon. He’d repaired perforated intestines and collapsed lungs. He patched bullet wounds and compound fractures. But the carburetor was well beyond him. Luc cursed softly under his breath and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. If only the insides of an engine bore some resemblance to the insides of a person.
The sound of another car caused him to look up. He froze, his heart plummeting in his chest. “Ingrid, don’t move,” he said quietly in German through gritted teeth. He watched her body go rigid. The military cargo truck came to a halt twenty feet behind them on the packed dirt road. Gunmen jumped out of the back and surrounded the jeep, their AK-47s raised and pointed at Luc and Ingrid. Some were barely teenagers, but the weapons carried in their little hands were just as lethal. Luc raised his hands to placate them.
“Doctor? Doctor?” they asked him insistently, never lowering their guns. Luc nodded. One of the men stepped forward, smirking slightly, clearly the group’s leader. Luc guessed that he was about twenty five years old. He wore a faded blue soccer jersey and dirty khakis with a tear in the knee. Luc had absolutely no desire to die at the hands of this man.
“You will come with us,” the man said. It wasn’t a question.
“Okay,” Luc replied. He met Ingrid’s gaze and saw the same fear in her eyes that he knew was in his. “Just let her go.”
“Don’t do anything stupid, Luc,” she said in French, her voice wavering.
The man laughed slightly. “You have a deal, Doctor.”
“Don’t do this,” she whispered, shaking her head. He watched a solitary tear slip down her cheek. They were only two miles from the refugee camp. If she got back there, she’d be safe, he told himself. His stomach tied itself in knots at the thought of letting her safety hang on the promise of such untrustworthy people.
“If anything happens to her, I will not help you,” Luc warned, his voice steely with false resolve.
One of the men reached into the jeep and Luc stepped forward, only to have the noose of armed thugs circle around him more tightly. The man pulled both of the medical bags out of the backseat as the ringleader turned to Ingrid. “You can go,” he said.
She looked directly at Luc but didn’t move. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “Please,” he whispered hoarsely. He watched a tremor shudder through her body as she stepped out of the jeep. The men surrounded Luc and led him to the back of the cargo truck. He looked back at Ingrid where she stood, suddenly looking so small. He was pushed unceremoniously into the truck and joined by the half dozen armed men who formed his unwanted entourage.
“You have a beautiful woman,” one of the rebels said suggestively, causing the others to laugh. “It’s too bad the captain didn’t let us have her. We could have had some fun.” Luc felt his blood slowly begin to boil and his skin grow hot. He wanted to throw himself at the mindless thug, to beat him until he was bloodied for daring to look at Ingrid, for thinking of her as an object to be had, for all the vile and repulsive thoughts he knew were going through the minds of every one of the men in the truck with him. But he knew it was probably their misogyny and their ignorance that kept them from thinking to kidnap Ingrid instead of him if they needed a doctor. He kept his head down and said nothing as the truck pulled away on the bumpy road. It wasn’t that far to the camp, he reminded himself as he looked down at his still grease covered hands. She would be okay.
********
