Chapter 11
Devlon had been there a little over two hours and already didn’t like what was happening with Heather’s tribe. It took every ounce of his strength not to step forward and take over. Instead he watched in amazement as Heather handled the situation with confidence and empathy. It was clear there was an emotional connection between her and the little girl. She kept her distance as a leader would have to do in order to make the hard decisions, but he could tell it took a toll on her.
He checked in with his men, who were setting up their tents. Heather offered to free up a subcar, but he felt uncomfortable forcing someone out of their home, even if it was temporary. Besides, their tents were heated and the beds were much more comfortable than in the subcars. He didn’t tell the humans that, not wanting to offend them.
“Report on what you discovered,” Devlon demanded.
“There is appropriate space to create apartments and a market. The subcars are not in as good a shape as others we’ve seen, and there was a cave in one part of the subway tunnel which will need to be reinforced.”
“What of the people?” Devlon looked in the direction of the tunnels as he continued to question his men.
“This tribe is much smaller than some of the others. They also appear to be in need of more treatments.”
“Why do these people need more treatments than the people from the other tribes?” That confused him the most. Heather’s tribe wasn’t the first to receive treatment, but they weren’t the last, and it seemed they were in worse shape. He couldn’t help but worry over Heather. When did she last receive a treatment?
“I think there has been more exposure, due in part to the cave-in.”
“Order the reinforcements to be applied to the tunnels, and I want every inch covered in a protective barrier. I’ve already requested a mediko team to come and give treatments. What of their supplies?”
“They will need more clothing, shoes, and food. I believe the food also might be what has caused more problems with their recovery.”
“Explain.”
“We noticed quite a few dented cans, and some that had even been pierced. When I asked the officer guarding supplies about them, he said that some of the cans came from where the cave-in occurred, but that he had multiple problems with people breaking into the supply area. He suspected tampering.”
“What do you think, Lieutenant?”
“I believe the opened cans were plied open with some tool purposely.”
“Have samples taken of those tampered cans.”
“Yes, sir.”
“The equipment will arrive tomorrow to start building the apartments. I’ll speak with Heather about which men she would like trained to assist in the construction. Until tomorrow, take turns setting up security, especially around the supply area.”
He dismissed his men and went over to the tent that had been set up for him. If the food was tampered with, someone was trying to make Heather’s people sick on purpose. She needed to be told about this. He went to open the flap to the tent and stopped when he saw Heather standing nearby.
“Heather?”
“May we talk privately?”
“Of course.” He moved to the side so that she could enter the tent.
*****
Heather looked around at the tent, which was impressive. “Wow, this is much bigger than I thought it would be. It’s so tall you don’t even have to bend down to enter or exit.” It had a small table, a chair, and a floating cot, which looked way too comfy. She pictured being naked with Devlon on that cot.No, I didn’t come here for that.
“Is something wrong?”
She turned to face him. “I had to expel Leonard from the tribe. Usually that requires a vote, but I made an executive decision. I thought you should know so that you could tell your men not to allow him back in if he tries to return.”
“That must have been a difficult decision to make.”
“I’ve know him a while, but he was never satisfied being second-in-command.”
He motioned for her to sit on the bed, but she chose the chair instead. “I’ve had those who think I should be replaced, as well. In fact quite recently I had to deal with an incident.”
“You were almost killed, from what I heard.”
