Read Online Avenging Angels (The Seraphim Chronicles Book 1) by Nicholas Adams - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nicholas Adams
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military voice. “It’s becoming disruptive to activities on the base and I can’t afford to have any of my pilots get sick from one of your engineers and spread it around my patrols. Do you even know what’s going on with your people? But more importantly, what are you and the Department of Health doing about it?” Jacobs demanded. His inclination to play nice never lasted long with Graham.
Graham frowned. He did not like it when people spoke down to him. He thought himself above most others. “First, Colonel, I’m well aware that there are several engineers fabricating illnesses in an attempt to negotiate an increase in benefits.” He lied. “Second, I’ve already been in contact with the Department of Health and they’ve assured me that the individuals in question have been cleared for work. And third, the next time you come up here with outlandish accusations, you’d better have more to back up your claims than alleged reports.” Graham stood up and returned to his desk without even looking back at Jacobs.
Jacobs’s eyes followed Graham to his desk. “It would be too simple to just kill him.” He thought. “That would be the easy solution.” He stood up and turned toward Graham’s desk. He placed his cap back on his head and stared at the man sitting at his desk pretending to be working until the uncomfortable silence in the room compelled him to look up.
Graham had not noticed that Colonel Jacobs had taken several steps and stood in front of him as rigid as a steel column. He could feel Jacobs staring down with hard, merciless eyes like the alpha in a pack. He struggled against the urge to submit, but his deep psychological need to feel safe won out over his desire for egotistical megalomania.
When Graham’s eyes met those of the Colonel, the soldier gave a jeering salute and said.” Thank you for your time, Commander.” Graham had been beaten in the battle of wills. Graham knew it and Jacobs knew it. There was a lesson Jacobs hoped Graham would learn from their encounters. One should never be rude to a professional soldier.
TEN
Evangeline took the usual route from her home to the base. She had become accustomed to traveling home on autopilot, often because of sleepless nights due to her nightmares, which left her exhausted. On rare occasions, she would miss a stop or a transfer because she was lost in her thoughts. It was one of those days.
A young family on the train had drawn her attention, distracting her. The couple was younger than she and Jack, in their twenties she guessed. What grabbed her attention were their two children. Seeing one child per family in Olympus was common enough, but witnessing a family with two children was becoming more and more rare. Two young boys sat on their parents’ laps; Evangeline guessed they were four and one. Both sons were an express copy of their mother, with light brown hair and chocolate eyes.
Evangeline felt the familiar pang of regret at the choice she had made years before. Looking back, she realized the decision had been born of a sordid combination of self-doubt and desperation.
After her parents had disappeared, and had been denounced as Dissident sympathizers, Evangeline faced a decision that no one should ever be forced to make: to choose to either never bear children of her own or to become a permanent outcast of Olympic society.
The bright giggles of the children engaged in a tickle fight with their mother pealed in her ears as her mind went reeling back to the day when she learned of the choice that she had to make as the daughter of traitors.
“If you’ll just scan you palm on the tablet, then we’ll be able to proceed.” The woman in the grey uniform from the Olympic Bureau of Administration did not attempt to hide her contemptuous tone.
“I still don’t understand,” Evangeline said, staring at the display in her hands. “Why I am required to sign this, again?” She sat on the
Graham frowned. He did not like it when people spoke down to him. He thought himself above most others. “First, Colonel, I’m well aware that there are several engineers fabricating illnesses in an attempt to negotiate an increase in benefits.” He lied. “Second, I’ve already been in contact with the Department of Health and they’ve assured me that the individuals in question have been cleared for work. And third, the next time you come up here with outlandish accusations, you’d better have more to back up your claims than alleged reports.” Graham stood up and returned to his desk without even looking back at Jacobs.
Jacobs’s eyes followed Graham to his desk. “It would be too simple to just kill him.” He thought. “That would be the easy solution.” He stood up and turned toward Graham’s desk. He placed his cap back on his head and stared at the man sitting at his desk pretending to be working until the uncomfortable silence in the room compelled him to look up.
Graham had not noticed that Colonel Jacobs had taken several steps and stood in front of him as rigid as a steel column. He could feel Jacobs staring down with hard, merciless eyes like the alpha in a pack. He struggled against the urge to submit, but his deep psychological need to feel safe won out over his desire for egotistical megalomania.
When Graham’s eyes met those of the Colonel, the soldier gave a jeering salute and said.” Thank you for your time, Commander.” Graham had been beaten in the battle of wills. Graham knew it and Jacobs knew it. There was a lesson Jacobs hoped Graham would learn from their encounters. One should never be rude to a professional soldier.
TEN
Evangeline took the usual route from her home to the base. She had become accustomed to traveling home on autopilot, often because of sleepless nights due to her nightmares, which left her exhausted. On rare occasions, she would miss a stop or a transfer because she was lost in her thoughts. It was one of those days.
A young family on the train had drawn her attention, distracting her. The couple was younger than she and Jack, in their twenties she guessed. What grabbed her attention were their two children. Seeing one child per family in Olympus was common enough, but witnessing a family with two children was becoming more and more rare. Two young boys sat on their parents’ laps; Evangeline guessed they were four and one. Both sons were an express copy of their mother, with light brown hair and chocolate eyes.
Evangeline felt the familiar pang of regret at the choice she had made years before. Looking back, she realized the decision had been born of a sordid combination of self-doubt and desperation.
After her parents had disappeared, and had been denounced as Dissident sympathizers, Evangeline faced a decision that no one should ever be forced to make: to choose to either never bear children of her own or to become a permanent outcast of Olympic society.
The bright giggles of the children engaged in a tickle fight with their mother pealed in her ears as her mind went reeling back to the day when she learned of the choice that she had to make as the daughter of traitors.
“If you’ll just scan you palm on the tablet, then we’ll be able to proceed.” The woman in the grey uniform from the Olympic Bureau of Administration did not attempt to hide her contemptuous tone.
“I still don’t understand,” Evangeline said, staring at the display in her hands. “Why I am required to sign this, again?” She sat on the
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