“They haven’t hurt anyone!” He didn’t mean to shout, but he couldn’t take this anymore. Why couldn’t Sloan see that he was becoming overwhelmed by his own bitterness? “We’re focusing on the wrong things, Commander.”
Sloan’s cool expression didn’t waver. “Then perhaps you’re the one who’s lost sight of what we’re doing here, Captain.”
Nathan looked down at his feet, threading his fingers together with his elbows on his knees and pursing his lips to keep from arguing more. It wouldn’t get him anywhere. It took everything he had to take a breath, raise his head, and say, “I’ll defer to your judgment in the matter, sir.”
“Yes, you will,” Sloan agreed coldly, and Nathan didn’t miss the threat in his tone. He paused, and Nathan wondered if that would be the end of the meeting until Sloan said, “Your squad is patrolling tonight, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you heard about Shiloh’s team yet?”
“Shiloh’s team, sir?”
Sloan passed a hand over his face. “They were attacked last night while out on patrol. Which wouldn’t be anything noteworthy, as that’s the whole reason we patrol in the first place, but these were… human.”
“Human? Human like the kid in that footage?”
Sloan nodded. “Two humans, both extraordinarily strong. We… We lost Zeke. Maxwell spent all night working on him in surgery.”
A pang of shock hit him. One of these peoplekilleda paladin? “What… What happened? How did they manage to kill one of our people?”
“They were trying to contain the threat without the use of lethal force, because they were human. But they didn’t know how to make them stopfighting. Zeke was trying to hold one of them, and they grabbed one of his knives.”
“They stabbed him with his own knife?” Nathan breathed.
Sloan nodded, then shook his head. “It shouldn’t have happened. We have to figure out what’s causing this. Both of the humans’ chests exploded after Zeke was stabbed. Shiloh said he also saw a skeletal-looking hand reaching through one just before the human died.”
“So it’s definitely possessor demons trying to break through,” Nathan said. And this incident proved that it was definitely more than just one possessor trying to break free.
“It looks that way, certainly. We need to know why and how to stop this.”
Sloan shouldn’t have dismissed the drug idea so easily, but Nathan couldn’t push the subject any more without risking punishment. The best thing he could do was find the truth, no matter what.
“With your permission, Commander, I’d like to question the demons of In Extremis. There’s a chance someone there knows something, and I think necessity dictates that we utilize all avenues available to us right now.”
Sloan’s face soured. “No, you’re not going anywhere near those demons anymore. They’re clearly hurting your judgment. I’ll send someone else to question the demons of the club. I want you off the case. I’m not sure you’re thinking clearly anymore.”
“But sir,” Nathan protested.
“You need to remember who you’re loyal to, Captain Accardi,” Sloan said.
“I’m loyal to the guild, sir. I never forgot that. It isn’t my fault they made a halfling my point of contact.” He hesitated, then took a calculated risk. “I thought you wanted me to find out where their base is.”
Sloan’s eyes narrowed.
“Give me a little more time with them. I’ve spoken several times with them all, and I think if I keep at it, they’ll invite me to see their operation soon.” He felt slimy as he said it.
Sloan tilted his head. He looked tempted. “You have one more week with them, and then I’m pulling the plug on this truce. It’s going nowhere, and I won’t risk losing any more paladins to them. In the meantime, you’re off the possession case. Maybe I’m overloading you, and that’s why you’re faltering.”
Nathan fought to keep his expression passive. He wasn’tfaltering, and yet he ached with relief that Sloan hadn’t shut down the truce completely.
“Fair enough, Commander. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that I’m still a loyal member of the guild.”
He stood and saluted, ignoring the way his stomach twisted, not at the thought of losing Sloan’s trust, but of being unable to see Storm again.
* * *
He spentthe rest of the day at HQ, writing up the official report for his morgue visit and training with his squad. At dinner, he made his way to the cafeteria with the others, his mind elsewhere. He probably needed to update the defectors about the attack on Shiloh’s squad, if only because it meant this was an ongoing problem like they’d all feared and not an isolated incident.
