Chapter 10

As the pair strode down the hall of the hospital, staff and patients moved out of the way as though afraid to be noticed. The red robed Druid moved with the motion and grace of a warrior. Her eyes watched every entryway seeking out danger. On the other hand, the black robed Druid seemed to swagger down the hall like a cowboy.

Ed glanced to his right taking in the room numbers on the door. There were so many doors and behind each door were patients recovering from wounds. He finally found the door he was seeking and came to a stop. The Druid beside him paused and entered the room.

Ed waited knowing that the patient wasn’t there. His companion came out of the room and said, “He’s over in physical therapy. Should we wait for him here?”

“No,” answered Ed, “let’s go see how our man is doing.”

His companion shrugged her shoulders letting him make the decisions as she said, “Lead the way.”

Ed strolled through the labyrinth to the physical therapy room without difficulty. His companion marched beside him taking note of the reactions of the people around them. A red robed Druid walking through a military hospital was not a good sign as far as most of the patients were concerned. Red robed Druids showed up when things were going south. The only positive note was that things would typically improve as a result of their presence.

Reaching the door, Ed stopped and held out a hand to stop his companion from entering the room. At the door, he watched the man struggling to walk between two parallel bars. He was having difficulty using the artificial leg that was attached below his stump. The expression on his face was a cross between intense concentration and anger. Ed wondered what was the source of the anger. Was he angry about not being able to master the artificial leg or at the fact that he needed it?

After five minutes, his physical therapy came to an end. As the man settled into a wheel chair, Ed entered the room and asked, “Captain Jones?”

The man looked up and saw the two Druids watching him. Frowning, he asked, “What do you want?”

Ed smiled at the reaction of the man. It was exactly what he had predicted. He said, “I’m Ed Biggers. My companion is Penny Vinter.”

“So what,” asked Captain Jones. He pointed to Penny and said, “You’re too late. They already got me.”

Ed leaned against the door frame and said, “I take it you didn’t apply to the Druid College.”

Confused by the question, Captain Jones looked over at Ed and asked, “Why in the name of hell would I do that?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that an application came in with your name on it along with your school and military records,” replied Ed.

“I didn’t send you that.”

“Everything on your application was true except for your signature,” commented Ed.

“Well, I didn’t fill it out,” replied Captain Jones wanting to end the discussion.

Ed walked over to the parallel bars and examined them for a minute. Glancing over at the physical therapist and an aide, Ed took note of their presence and was amused at the confused expressions on their faces. He turned to face the man in his wheelchair. Looking directly at the Captain, he asked, “I wonder why General Grey went to so much trouble.”

At the mention of General Grey, Penny started and turned to face Ed. There wasn’t any reason for a black robe Druid to know the general. She asked, “How do you know about General Grey?”

Ed shrugged and looked over at the soldier. The Captain paled at the mention of the name. He spun his wheelchair and tried to head for the door, but Penny was alert enough to block his exit before he reached it. She looked down at the Captain and asked, “How do you know General Grey?”

The Captain answered, “It’s classified.”

The therapist, a muscular young man, moved in to support the Captain. Before he was able to take two steps, Ed had interposed his body between the Captain and the therapist. He turned his back to ignore the therapist, an action that confused the bigger man for a moment. The therapist growled, “Leave the Captain alone.”

Penny glanced over at the therapist with an expression that suggested there were other things the man could do that might be stupider, but he’d really have to search for a long time. Her look had the desired effect on the therapist. The aide stood to the side wondering what was going on.

Ed was quiet for a moment as he examined the Captain. He said, “Let me guess. You were wounded while on a mission directed by the good General.”

The reaction of the Captain told Ed everything he needed to know. He had touched on the truth. The mission that had resulted in the man’s injuries had been run under the direction of the General and had gone bad. Could it be that the General felt guilty?

Penny asked, “Ed, you seem to know a lot about General Grey. Do you mind telling me about it?”

“I was present when he was promoted from Colonel to General. That was my first and last visit to the White House,” replied Ed as he watched the Captain’s reaction. The man didn’t seem to react to that announcement, but Penny did.

Ed paced a moment and then said, “Penny. I imagine that General Grey has heard that we’re here. He’ll be showing up soon. Would you delay his arrival for about ten minutes?”

His request was met with laughter as she answered, “Only ten minutes? I can give you an hour.”

As far as the man in the wheelchair was concerned, the assumption that the General would come to the hospital because these two Druids were present seemed pretty egotistical on their part. Captain Jones said, “He’s not coming.”

After Penny left the room, the therapist approached Ed now that he felt the odds were even. Ed went to the door and closed it to give them a little more privacy. Without even looking at the man, Ed said, “Reconsider that.”

“I can tear you a new asshole before you take three steps. What do you think you can do to me?” The big man made fists and took another step towards Ed. The problem was that it was impossible to intimidate someone when they kept their back to you.

“Not much, I suppose. I can get an IRS audit started, an FBI investigation initiated, and begin a half dozen other things that are even more unpleasant. However, I’d rather have you accept that I’m not here to harm the good Captain.”

Turning to Captain Jones, he asked, “What identification could I show you that would allow you to answer my questions?”

Captain Jones laughed at the question and answered, “Just about every alphabet soup government agency.”

Ed pulled out his wallet and started showing the Ids from the various government agencies with which he consulted. He asked, “Is that enough?”

“What, you don’t have DIA?” answered the Captain putting as much irony in his voice as he could muster. He was convinced that no one could possess so many badges from so many agencies. No one worked for the IRS, FBI, and CIA.

“No, Penny is the one affiliated with the NSA, DIA, Army, and CIA,” answered Ed in the offhand manner of someone that knew more than others.

“You’re blowing smoke up my ass. Now get out of here before I call an MP,” countered the Captain.

The therapist had seen the badges and had been impressed to the point where Ed’s previous threat only seemed more realistic. He backed up and glanced over at the aide while shrugging his shoulders.

Ed leaned against the parallel beams and examined the man in the wheel chair. Shaking his head, he thought about what the General had gone through to set up this meeting. It went far beyond what he could consider normal even for General Grey. The man wanted something from Ed and was using the Captain to get it.

He said, “Before you do that, let me ask you one question. General Grey went to a lot of trouble to make sure that you and I met. He knows that I’m the only Druid at the school that could have spotted the fake admission. Why does he want you and me to meet?”

“He wants you to kill me,” replied the Captain.

There was a ring of truth in the answer that testified to the fact that the Captain actually believed it was a real possibility. The Captain didn’t know that a Druid would never act like a hit man, but the General knew better. The actual explanation had to be something very different. Ed thought it would be funny if the reason was the exact opposite. Wouldn’t it be a real kicker if the General wanted Ed to save the Captain?

“So why would he want me to kill you?”

“He’s the whole reason I’m here,” answered the Captain, “and it’s going to take a lot to convince me that he expected me to live long enough to make it here.”

From the hall came the yell, “Stand down, men. If Penny doesn’t want me to pass, then you’re not going to be able to get me past her.”

Ed chuckled at the disturbance and said, “Better start talking fast before she lets him in.”

The man in the wheelchair had heard the outburst in the hall. If the General wasn’t going to force his way past Penny, then these Druids were much more powerful than they appeared. He re-evaluated his initial reaction to the identification that Ed had shown him.

“He sent my unit on a mission and I was the only one that made it back. We didn’t complete the mission. There was no way to complete the mission. They dropped us off right in the middle of the enemy,” answered Captain Jones with more than a little bitterness. Half of the men in his unit were dead before their parachutes hit the ground.

“And you think they did it intentionally,” commented Ed.

“You bet your Druid ass,” replied Captain Jones. “No one could have blown it that bad.”

“Is your career in the Army over?”

“What do you care?” snapped the Captain.

“I don’t actually care,” replied Ed with a grin at the knowledge that his answer would probably shock the soldier. He added, “Let’s just say that I was curious.”

“Penny, let me in there. Now!”

At the exclamation from the hallway, Ed commented, “Sounds to me like the General is getting impatient.”

The Captain stared at the door in surprise that the General hadn’t already entered the room. No one ever stood between the General and what he wanted. It was a demonstration of real power that she had stopped him. He didn’t know what it meant when the General started negotiating with her. He said, “I don’t understand why he hasn’t had her removed by now.”

Ed laughed at the comment and said, “The Druids live by two rules. If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. We expect the rest of the world to live by one rule.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t fuck with a Druid,” replied Ed, “and the General is well aware of that one.”

It sounded like the kind of thing that a military unit would adopt as a motto and the Captain, despite his sour mood, couldn’t help but chuckle. He had heard a little bit about Druids over the past six years and knew that they had the ears of important people, but he didn’t know just how cocky they were. Although he felt miserable, he couldn’t help but admire that kind of attitude.

Ed called out, “Penny, let him in, alone.”

General Grey walked into the room as if he controlled everything around him. The effect was ruined by the grin on Penny’s face. She had enjoyed taking the intelligence officer down a notch or two.

Ed said, “You went to a lot of trouble to get me here. Do you want to explain why?”

“Haven’t you figured it out by now?”

“I figure you feel a little guilty about the last mission on which you sent this man, and want me to help him get his emotional legs under him at the same time that he gets his fake leg under him,” answered Ed.

“So are you going to accept him in the college?” asked the General.

“No,” answered Ed, “he already has a degree.”

The answer took the General by surprise. It had never dawned on him that the Druids would reject the Captain. He said, “Oh, I thought...”

“You thought wrong,” interrupted Ed.

The Captain had watched the exchange with interest. When the Druid had suggested that the General felt guilty, he was tempted to burst out laughing. That didn’t go with the reputation held by the man. That his admission had been rejected almost hurt as much as the wound that took his leg.

“So, I guess I wasted your time,” said the General with a funny expression on his face.

“Yes,” answered Ed. He looked over at the Captain for a minute trying to assess his character. The guy sitting in the wheelchair had been damaged and the damage went beyond his legs.

“Sorry about that,” replied the General, “I guess I had better leave now.”

“Is Captain Jones a good man?” asked Ed.

“Yes, he is,” answered the General. After a significant pause, he added, “Followed orders and executed his missions to the best of his ability.”

“I didn’t ask if he was a good soldier. I asked if he was a good man.”

The General went to the door and turned to look at Ed. Staring the Druid straight in the eye, he said, “I wouldn’t have tried to help him if he wasn’t.”

Ed turned to Penny and said, “Get the Captain transferred to the Infirmary of the Druid College. I can use an assistant for the next few months.”

General Grey turned and stared at Ed, surprised by the action. Penny smiled, enjoying the looks on the faces of the military men in the room. Captain Jones wondered if he had any choice in the matter.

The General said, “He’s still in the military.”